Xiaoxiao mysterious Pet Pouchy’s identity was now clear to everyone—it was a Tier 3 Elite Miniboss Silver-Winged Double-Headed Bee.

Pouchy had both Water and Fire Magic Attack abilities. It could also fly and at the same time has the ability to launch poison needles from a distance. Excluding the fact that its Attack was a little weaker than average, this Pet was considered to be an all-rounder battle monster.

Qin Ruo chose Xiaoxiao as one of the members to enter the Buried City was mainly because he liked how Pouchy’s dual-element attacks had greatly enhanced Xiaoxiao overall battle strength. The Pet Eggs of the other members had yet to hatch while Violetmoon Devilite and her Pet Fang were a little too under leveled to carry this burden.

Even if the other members were able to hatch the egg within these three days’ time, they would still need some time to train and adapt to each other.

Xiaoxiao was now at Level 46 while Pouchy was at Level 41. With some extra effort, they would be able to reach the Level 49 cap before the day they enter the Buried City.

He would then pass over those Dark Gold equipment he previously equipped to Xiaoxiao. The missing parts could also be obtained by exchanging out the unused Dark Gold Equipment he currently stored inside the vault.

As long as the difficulty level was not exceptionally hard, Xiaoxiao should not have any trouble completing the Advancement Quest with Pouchy’s help and a full set of Dark Gold equipment.

Even if she could not make it on time, Xiaoxiao’s role as an Aquamancer was also more significant as compared to the other members. She would be a great help to the party by filling in the role as a Support as well as a main attacker at the same time.

“That’s a good choice.” Slayer’s Heart approved Qin Ruo’s selection.

“We now have our member set. But we still have one problem remaining,” Violet Orchid reminded Slayer’s Heart. “Regarding the Aricus Underground Ruins, Bauhinia and Netherspirit’s Claw had reached an agreement. Both sides are not allowed to help players from other forces to enter the Buried City. If anyone from other than the two clans breach the Ruins, both side will have to work together to forbid the intruding party from entering the Ruins.”

“…”

Qin Ruo, Judge, and the others frowned as they listened to the news. “Co-ordinated blockade? This is a tough pill to swallow.”

“Oh yes. I almost forgot about this. Not only that, both sides of the League have also promised that when we are competing for resources, those who have left their Soul Imprint in the Buried City are forbidden to step foot into the Ruins again as this will waste one spot,” Slayer’s Heart look at Qin Ruo as he spoke, since Qin Ruo was the only one who had left a Soul Imprint in the Buried City.

Qin Ruo stretched out his arms and said, “I am not a member of the League.” In other words, he did not care about the agreement made between Bauhinia and Netherspirit’s Claw.

However, Slayer’s Heart and Violet Orchid looked at him and spoke at the same time. “But Netherclaw intentionally highlighted your name during the meeting…”

Qin Ruo was displeased by the news and furrowed his brow.

“To prove that you are not part of Bauhinia Clan, Scarlet has promised that he will not provide you any form of assistance once you step foot inside the Aricus Underground Ruins. He will let those from Netherspirit’s Claw to do whatever they want.”

“This is…”

Qin Ruo laughed helplessly and asked, “Is this some sort of ground order by Netherspirit’s Claw?”

Judge, Black Rock, and others who were listening quietly all this while were intimidated and expressed their dissatisfaction.

“Netherspirit’s Claw is crossing the line…” Judge said stiffly.

Subjugator, in contrast, was more agitated. He shattered a beer glass with his bare hand and condemned angrily, “Disallow others to enter the Ruins? F*ck! I am so going into the Ruins now. For the longest time, these guys have behaved arrogantly and disrespected other players. Now he even thinks that he is the world’s number one and can do as he please? Go to hell!”

As a Champion that was soon to enter the Tier 5 domain, Subjugator has been long displeased by how some of the League leaders managed things. Be it claiming training spots, Clans being protected in the name of League, or League’s Hunters, they acted as if H&G belonged to them and they could do whatever they please. They were more tyrannical compared to his Tyranny Clan!

“Damn!”

Subjugator asked Violet Orchid, “Will the Bauhinia Clan stop us? As long as you promise not to hinder us, we will force our way I and see what those bastards can do about that!”

“I will back you up Qin Ruo!” Black Rock was usually the talkative one, but today he was unusually quiet. After he heard Subjugator’s suggestion, Black Rock subconsciously touched the Dark Gold ring on his finger. He happened to catch a glimpse of the obnoxious guy who sat in a corner and kept gulping down alcohol.

“This guy will lose his tongue when there are many pretty ladies around.” Black Rock rubbed his forehead and explained to the others.

Fateless, face all reddened, immediately rebutted Black Rock’s comment with a high voice, “Who said so? I call this low key. Unlike you who likes to show off your Dark Gold ring whenever you have the chance as if you are scared that your ability to cast AoE Petrification is not known to the entire world.”

“Fine, fine!” Black Rock did not want to argue with him. “Just promise you will show up when it matters.”

Fateless was first stunned, then went back to his seat. “I’ll never back off from killing my enemy.” He continued drinking after saying that.

“I will prepare more Mana Cores and blow them up.” Snowleaf expressed her strong desire to get involved with the fight while feeding pine nuts to Poochie.

Slayer’s Heart and Violet Orchid looked at each other helplessly. ‘Since when did the League system draw so much hatred?’

***

After a prolonged discussion, both sides agreed on the details about how they were going to enter the Buried City.

The part about the key was entrusted to Qin Ruo and Judge; while Slayer’s Heart and Violet Orchid would take care of the Gorefiend Spider Demon. As for Netherspirit’s Claw, they did not plan to provide them a clear explanation. All they were going to tell them was that Qin Ruo had kept a set of the map for himself before the lockdown. If Netherclaw and Dark Dragon doubted and refused to believe them, then so be it.

In the next two and a half days, everyone would focus on their own training and target.

In other words, level up and Pet training.

Qin Ruo planned to enter the Buried City and continued the exploration from where he left off after he got familiar with the Tier 5 skills. His ultimate aim was to catch up to the progress made by Netherspirit’s Claw as soon as possible.

***

Half an hour later, the group went their separate way in front of Champion’s Restaurant’s doorstep.

Everyone excused themselves to prepare for the mission two days later, with Qin Ruo and Xiaoxiao the only two people left, who were still deciding on their next destination.

“Where should we go?” Xiaoxiao shiny glasses gazed upon Qin Ruo. He was the one who suggested to go and find out what Pouchy was capable of.

“How about Snow Domain?” Qin Ruo suggested.

Xiaoxiao nodded. She usually did not have much comment on where to go when they were alone.

“Then Snow Domain it is.”

Qin Ruo thought that as long as he stayed within a region with a high concentration of Water Element, then he would not be afraid of anyone.

As they walked out of Savis Town side by side, the portrait-lookalike man and woman immediately attracted many players and soon became the center of attraction.

The trend of Pet hatching still had not completely subsided, so the low-tier monster zone situated just outside the town was still pretty crowded.

When Xiaoxiao summoned Pouchy, the crowd was in awe by the shiny Silver-Winged Killer Bee’s two hysterical heads and its pointy tail.

“It has two heads…”

“…and it looks like a Boss tier.”

A group of players chatted excitedly from far. Few players beside them looked blank. “Are two-headed monsters really that powerful?”

“Of course. Two brains must be smarter than one.”

“Owh!”

“But I think the Winter Demon’s Pet is even stronger!”

“Isn’t that bullshit? Level! Tier! Do you understand?”

“What do you mean?”

“Damn! Are you new around here? Someone had already made a detailed analysis of the Winter Demon’s Pet. Its attack is terrifyingly strong. Such anomaly belongs neither to a unique monster or normal Boss! Do you understand?”

“Err… I think I get it. But then, what type of monster could it be?”

“Shit! How on earth do I know? Even those extreme people on the forum cannot provide an accurate answer. How do you expect me to answer that?”

“…”

As a more experienced player educating a few of innocent newbies using a loud voice, an ink black shadow passed by them in a swish. The crowd could only manage to glimpse a faint shadow that dashed rapidly toward the direction of the Snow Domain.

“That’s fast!”

“Hey bro, what technique is that?” A few players asked the slightly experienced player Archangel.

The latter looked into the distance with a pair of gleaming eyes. He shook his hand impatiently in response to the rookies’ question. “How should I know…”

“So there are things that you don’t know too?”

“Of course.” Archangel rolled his eyes and said, “If I know everything, will I still be wearing Violet equipment? F*ck you all! Get away from me now! Don’t bother me from pushing for Tier 5.”

“Hey bro, you are only Level 37 now,” the few new players reminded Archangel.

The latter was stunned and asked in surprise, “Wait, how is it you guys know my level?”

All the players nearby were baffled by his ignorance.

***

Deep inside the Snow Domain, a man and a woman paid close attention to the battle between two snakes and a bee not far away from them quietly.

At one side, it was a Level 41 Silver-Winged Bee; while its opponents were two Level 42 Ice Pythons. Judging by the fact that the Ice Pythons’ speed was slowed down and their bodies were fully covered by yellow venomous powder, the one which had the upper hand was apparently the bee that was still flying freely and attacking agilely from the air.

Xiaoxiao was hugging Poochie and narrated the battle situation to Qin Ruo while combing the little creature’s fur with her hand.

“Poison Mist is a Tier 4 skill. Its Mastery Point is going to be maxed out soon. This skill allows Pouchy to attack any target within a ten-meter radius. It is purely an Effect-Type Spell that has a 100% success rate. Once hit, the target’s Movement Speed will be reduced by 20-40%. The effect will last for five seconds.”

“Not bad.”

Qin Ruo witnessed the Silver-Winged Bee release offensive spells frequently at the periphery (roughly thirty meters away) of the Ice Python. The bee focused its attack on a single python and immediately escaped the effective attack range once it was caught up by either opponent. After that, the sly Pet would charge its spell and go in again. Two spells with 170 Magic Attack were released from both heads and easily took away more than one thousand HP from the status-ridden Ice Python.

After three repeated sequences, the bee effortlessly put down one of the Ice Pythons.

The second Ice Python happened to break off from the debuff state, but Xiaoxiao was well prepared for it. Under her command, Pouchy flicked its posterior and three black poison needles were shot out.

“This is Pouchy’s Innate Ability, Silverwinged Poison Sting. It has a certain probability of inflicting Paralysis, Petrification, or Chill.”

Xiaoxiao explanation moved Qin Ruo.

“Pouchy is a Gifted Creature?”

Xiaoxiao did not understand and echoed, “Gifted Creature?”

“It means a monster that is born with an Innate Ability as soon as it is hatched…” As Qin Ruo prepared to explain in more detail, the sound of strong wind ripping suddenly reached in beside him. The assault directly disarmed his Master-tier Frostbarrier without any warning.

‘Bandit!’

‘A Bandit evaded my Water Elemental Perception?!’

He immediately felt the pressing threat. But before he could react, a ferocious looking two-headed Lizard appeared almost instantaneously right in front of him the moment his Barrier was penetrated. Its two bloody mouths pointed directly at him.

‘Lizard Bandit!’

As soon as this name appeared in Qin Ruo mind, he saw a gray and a black ball of light discharge from the mouths of the two-headed Lizard. His distance from the lizard was only two meters apart.

***

The ambush came way too quick and too sudden. Xiaoxiao even still had her eyes fixed on the monster fight. Before the notification sounded, the player and Lizard had already broken through Qin Ruo’s barrier and was landing the killing blow.

Shieldbreaker, followed by two consecutive spells!

After successfully breaching the Barrier, a blurry figure appeared behind Qin Ruo. The Bandit sneered and flashed his dagger.

‘Tier 5 Winter Demon being buried at Snow Domain. This should make a way more sensational headline as compared to the previous few!’