Chapter 526: Leveling Up Amid Chaos and Commotion

At this moment, Nalan Hongwu, Su Tianji, and the others finally set foot upon the legendary Sky Tower, that miraculous monument through which the continent of Arad connected to the heavens.

Gazing upon the cylindrical spire that pierced the very vault of the sky, every cultivator and warrior who arrived here was, in truth, struck with awe by the sheer wonder of its architecture.

It had not originally stood near the West Coast; indeed, it had once existed solely in legends, glimpsed by only a select and fortunate few.

Yet, shortly before the adventurers arrived at the West Coast, it had materialized here with an abrupt and startling suddenness.

Within its walls dwelled countless grotesque lifeforms: cold, uncanny stone effigies of human form; massive, brawny stone giants capable of flight; and hidden within pitch-black darkness where one could not see their own hand, countless stone statues of knights that might quicken into life at any moment to strike down all intruders.

This monument of peerless grandeur was teeming with a myriad of bizarre and wondrous sights.

It was also a dungeon, and Nalan Hongwu, leading the party, swiftly elected to enter the Dragonoid Nest.

The magical power of the Sky Sea possessed the strength to influence all living beings, and the dragon race within had long since evolved into dragonoids possessing human forms; bound by the singular purpose of fiercely defending their territory to survive, they blindly barred the path of the adventurers.

This marked the first station within the Sky Tower.

The spire itself was remarkably majestic, and once inside, the interior space was evidently far more vast than it appeared from without.

They ascended continuously along the stairs of the grand tower, where winds surged and clouds gathered outside, when suddenly a great, dark cloud of flying creatures swarmed toward them.

"Watch this! Magic Iceball!" An Huwei, taking the lead as an ice mage, condensed magic in his palm and immediately unleashed a sphere of mixed ice and water the size of a basketball.

The sphere of blended elements crashed into the sudden swarm of monsters, instantly bursting into a shower of shards and spray that scattered the creatures into utter disarray.

Fixing their gaze upon them, they discovered these were dragon hatchlings, which bore a striking resemblance to the horned dragons of the Western Polar Region, their bodies only the size of a washbasin even with their wings included.

"How was that? Is this master's Magic Iceball not half bad?" Beholding the effect, An Huwei laughed uproariously.

He was considered rather skilled among mages, given that he had also played a sorcerer in Diablo II.

Yet before his laughter had even half subsided, a violent wind brushed past his face as a grey-yellow shadow lunged toward his back with terrifying speed!

"Wave Wheel Slasher!" Zong Wu reacted with incredible swiftness; with a sweep of his short sword, discerning the position by ear, a peculiar, earthy-yellow sword light erupted instantly along the corridor wall!

The force of that impact sent the lunging figure flying back on the spot.

"Oh?!" Nalan Hongwu turned his head, remarking in surprise, "Splendid accuracy!"

"Hahaha!" Zong Wu declared triumphantly, "Though I am somewhat unaccustomed to it, this Murderous Intent Perception is, in certain aspects, far more useful than eyes. For instance, I already know exactly how many monsters are near us in the tower tier above; even if it wishes to launch a sneak attack, it cannot deceive my senses!"

"So formidable?!" Su Tianji exclaimed in astonishment.

"But of course! Never for a single moment have I felt so sensitive to the subtle movements of the outside world. If this technique is mastered, I believe absolutely no one will ever be able to ambush me," Zong Wu laughed heartily, "Though I have become blind, I feel I have grown stronger!"

"Even that works?!" Nalan Hongwu muttered, staring at Zong Wu in a bit of a daze.

"Naturally!" Zong Wu replied with absolute confidence.

"Then let us move! Once we defeat the lord of this place, we shall challenge even higher difficulties!"

"Hmm?!" Zong Wu’s expression darkened: "Beware, another murderous intent draws near!"

Nalan Hongwu turned around, only to see the dragonoid that had just been flung away lunging forward once more!

Nalan Hongwu raised his sword horizontally.

"Clang!" He blocked the strike with perfect stability.

Exceedingly splendid!

"Hahaha! Was this old man's guard not..." Just as he turned his head to boast a little, a sword light as black as midnight lightning slashed down upon him.

"Ghost Slash!"

Nalan Hongwu stared at the incoming Ghost Slash: "!!??"

"Hahahahaha!" Zong Wu laughed loudly, "How was my Ghost Slash? Did it not resolve the crisis for everyone once more?"

"Old Ghost Nalan, how was it?!"

"Old Ghost Nalan?"

"Where is Old Ghost Nalan?!"

The other two stared over, utterly dumbfounded.

"Hmm? Why is the murderous intent growing even stronger?"

At this moment, Nalan Hongwu had only one thought in his heart: "Never party with a blind man!"

This motherfucker is simply impossible to carry!

...

At the exact same time, Song Qingfeng and his companions were also grouped together, frantically raising their levels within the dungeon.

Inside the Puppeteer’s Tower, Lin Shao wielded his Secret Sword Style with dizzying flamboyance: "Is it handsome or what! Young Master Song, look at how handsome I am!"

The lightsaber danced wildly in his hand.

At that moment, the greyish-white silhouette of a puppet lunged forward.

"This young master's Striker style is the truly handsome one, alright!" With that said, he delivered a fierce kick, then fished a brick out from his pocket, aiming it straight at the stone puppet that had just attacked, "Go to hell!"

Crack!

The one dancing with the lightsaber instantly collapsed to the ground.

"...Where the hell are you throwing that!"

In the Arad of the past, male fighters had always remained obscure, for the Martial God, Silesia Maya, never accepted male disciples.

Over time, female fighters naturally became the mainstream on the continent of Arad.

Yet those male fighters, denied the opportunity to formally learn martial arts techniques, did not give up; many new schools gradually came into being through their unceasing cultivation.

This was precisely why the male and female variants in Dungeon Fighter Online could be viewed as two entirely distinct classes.

Such a divergence, if placed in the world where Fang Qi currently resided, could be likened to two entirely different sectarian factions; though both were fighters and shared certain foundational commonalities, many of their core elements were completely distinct.

For instance, female fighters mostly relied on fist techniques, whereas Song Qingfeng used his legs almost exclusively throughout, rarely employing fist attacks outside of the martial arts he knew in reality.

"Uh... using legs all the time makes it hard to manage everything... my foot slipped." Song Qingfeng offered an embarrassed look.

...

The vast majority of players were currently utilizing new skills they were entirely unfamiliar with, raising their levels in a chaotic flurry of excitement.

And this vibrant atmosphere infected many other players as well, quite a few of whom intended to join in and try this new game.

The entire internet cafe seemed even more bustling than it had ever been before.

"Phew..." Owner Fang had played three characters in a single day, an act that could well be described as an intense grind, and it was only by nightfall that he barely managed to exhaust the fatigue of his third character.

Sitting in his computer chair, noticing that the people around him had mostly departed, he stretched his body with great effort.

He knew not how long it had been since he last experienced such a sensation.

Looking at his account, he shook his head with a faint smile.

On the following day, many people arose exceptionally early, as though driven by some manner of inner force.

For most of them, yesterday’s entire day had only brought them to around level twenty, a level where they had just begun to acquire refined yet spectacular class skills, such as the Secret Sword Style.

This was evidently not enough for them.

This was merely the beginning.

And so, it ended.