Chapter 11: Corrupt Treant, Leveling Efficiency

Ye Rong quickly finished his mushroom and sliced fish porridge as if the bowl held a deep grudge against him.

Early that morning, a building administrator came door-to-door collecting next month’s rent. The number on Ye Rong’s ID card dropped, losing another one hundred and twenty dollars—

No one dared to owe rent past the deadline. If they did, a single call from the administrator brought mechanical police within five minutes. Late payers faced double late fees plus three to ten days detention.

Spending money before earning any put Ye Rong in a sour mood, but he never mistreated his stomach. Breakfast was a must.

This bowl of porridge was generously portioned, made with premium japonica rice and large slices of tender fish, each cut with identical knife-work patterns. A few shiitake mushrooms and spring onions made the plain porridge wonderfully fragrant.

At just three dollars a bowl, it was dirt cheap. By rotating through forty or fifty breakfast options daily, Ye Rong managed to endure this machine-made instant food.

After polishing off the porridge, Ye Rong grabbed the Mind Link Connector and logged into Far Shore, resuming his leveling quest.

With two magic treasures now, Ye Rong leveled much faster and wasn’t limited to low-tier demons anymore.

Level 6 Green Wolves, Level 8 Corrupt Treants, even the Starter Village’s highest-level common monster, the Level 10 Black Wind Leopard—all could become his targets.

He’d already picked his goal: the Level 8 Corrupt Treant.

Corrupt Treants had thick health, high defense, and strong attacks. They even possessed a passive skill: Corroded Soil—turning the ground within a one-meter diameter into corrosive mud. Targets trapped inside moved 15% slower, attacked 10% slower, and lost one HP every two seconds.

Their only flaw was painfully slow movement speed.

For those without ranged attacks, this flaw meant nothing. But for Ye Rong, it was different.

Armed with two powerful long-range weapons, he could destroy Corrupt Treants from beyond their reach without taking any damage. Their crawl-like speed meant a few quick steps created enough distance.

One Water Talisman dealt over three times the damage of a Fireball, but Ye Rong didn’t use the Water Lord Talisman recklessly. Once emptied, it took one hour and forty minutes to fully recharge.

His habit was to always keep the Water Lord Talisman stocked with at least five Water Talismans, using Fire Talismans as his main damage source and occasionally supplementing with water.

This maintained high kill efficiency and ensured both treasures were ready for sudden dangers—like unexpected Elite Monsters or malicious players looking to steal kills or attack others.

Though wooden monsters, Fireballs didn’t deal extra damage to Corrupt Treants. Each Fireball went “sizzss!” and fizzled out on impact; their damp, moisture-filled trunks wouldn’t burn.

Fireball. Fireball. Fireball. Step back a few paces. More Fireballs. Mix in a Water Talisman. Then more Fireballs. After several repetitions, a Corrupt Treant would creak and sway before crumbling to ash, offering its Experience Points to Ye Rong.

His execution was flawless. The process wasn’t difficult, thanks entirely to his two ranged magic treasures. Without them, the Corrupt Treant’s stats and Corroded Soil skill would torment any player.

As he battled, Ye Rong reflected on his future direction—

After reaching Level 15, any player could join a Sect of their choice, truly beginning their Far Shore journey and learning Dao Spells and magic.

Far Shore had over twenty Sects, each with unique strengths. Some hidden cultivation Sects and Rogue Cultivators required rare opportunities, luck, and strength combined to join. Players in hidden Sects often had early advantages—their masters were powerful figures, and fewer players meant more Sect resources per person.

Ye Rong had no interest in wasting time gambling on hidden Sects. After researching all Sect paths, he’d settled on the Qingcheng Sect.

Qingcheng was a major Sect too. Its Divine Thunder couldn’t match Emei’s raw power, its spells weren’t as versatile as Kunlun’s, and its formations less practical than Huashan’s. But its Qingcheng Qi Refining Method offered one unmatched advantage: dramatically enhancing Flying Swords.

Knowing his ultimate strength lay with Flving Swords, Ye Rong coveted the Qingcheng Qi Refining Method deeply. Joining this Sect made perfect sense. Besides, weak Sect spells could be remedied by hard-working players learning brilliant magic from elsewhere.

But joining a Sect required Level 15, and walking from the Starter Village to the closest Main City took five or six days. Even with Sword Flight via the Taixuan Ice Soul Sword, it’d still take at least two or three days.

For a new player, that was unacceptable. Who knew what powerful monsters lurked in the wilderness?

Losing Lifespan was bad enough. Worse, since you hadn’t set a respawn point in any Main City, death would dump you back in the Starter Village. “Dying for a fast travel” to a Main City? Impossible.

Only two days into Open Beta Test, many players had tried killing the Great Water Turtle guarding the crucial Earth Deity Talisman, only to fail. All suffered Lifespan loss and dropped gear. Yet their sacrifices revealed the turtle’s stats and skills.

Its Health Points were estimated above ten thousand, and its defense was high. Normal attacks were average, but it had two skills.

Skill 1: Shoot a water pillar. Against players without multiple armor boosts, it meant instant death. Luckily, it didn’t spam this move.

Skill 2: Create a watery mist. Within it, the Great Water Turtle healed rapidly. This triggered when its Health Points dropped below half, lasting ten seconds with a ten-minute cooldown.

These two skills made the Great Water Turtle unbeatable so far. Nobody obtained the Earth Deity Talisman.

But Ye Rong wasn’t worried. He still had a ways to Level 15—time enough to devise a perfect turtle-killing plan.

His mind was busy, but his hands never slowed. One by one, Corrupt Treants fell before him.

At 280 Experience Points each, they flooded into Ye Rong’s Experience Bar. Especially since no other players invaded his grinding zone.