Chapter 234: Run! This Place Can

"Yes, we can't return," Shuang Wen said. "Not only can't we return through the return qualification, even forced return won't trigger."

"The Paradise prompt says we need to exit combat first."

Lose and then try to run? Why would things be that easy? This is already a localized war—how could it be taken lightly?

The Death Messengers from the Death Realm are the same.

So if we go in, to survive we must run fast enough.

Win? Don’t even think about it.

Killing the enemy gives seventeen thousand Paradise points, seventeen universal skill points, and seventeen bloodied chests.

Such a huge reward means equally great danger.

So if we want to act, we should first scout the situation, then proceed according to what we find.

Total annihilation is impossible, but killing one or two would still be profitable.

"So if you're going, I won't join you—I plan to leave Cangmang Guling and head outside to wait for return," Shuang Wen replied calmly.

Then he sent Chu Danqing a friend request.

He wasn't the only one with this idea; among all the Dimension Apostles who had completed their trial tasks, except Chu Danqing, Li Pi Huashan, and Yan Qi, the rest either returned or were also fleeing outward.

Only those who hadn’t completed their trial tasks remained struggling.

Of course, some ruthless ones simply triggered forced return to leave.

Chu Danqing also saw the weakness of the Dimension Apostles.

Most of them were just a disorganized mob.

After all, Paradise was too comfortable, yet the strong were extremely strong.

Yan Qi alone could hold off four Death Messengers; Chu Danqing’s Moon Orchid Martial Shadow, the Son of Heaven, and even the Ghost Mother could each single-handedly kill one Death Messenger.

This caused a severe rift between the top and bottom tiers.

Chu Danqing accepted Shuang Wen’s friend request, then said: "I plan to send my summons to scout first."

Letting him leave so easily didn’t sit right with Chu Danqing—he had to test the waters at least.

Li Pi Huashan smiled and shook his head: "I won’t get involved—I’ll go outside with Shuang Wen and just pass the time."

After speaking, Li Pi Hua Shan also sent Chu Danqing a friend request.

"Alright, what about you, Yan Qi?" Chu Danqing asked after accepting the request, turning to Yan Qi.

"I’ll go too," Yan Qi said, unwilling to let go either, and sent a friend request as well.

Among these four, Yan Qi had the strongest overall power, then Chu Danqing and Li Pi Huashan were evenly matched without summon allies, while Shuang Wen was just along for the ride.

His summons could each kill a Death Messenger individually, but only under these restrictions.

If Chu Danqing and his summons faced five alone, they’d lose for sure.

After accepting their requests, Chu Danqing said: "Then let’s part ways here—maybe we’ll meet again another time."

This was just polite formality—mostly about exchanging equipment later.

The purpose of adding friends was exactly that.

As for forming a team, that was unrealistic—they were all lone wolves.

At most, they could temporarily cooperate under Paradise’s restrictions.

Only Shuang Wen might have such an idea.

With that, the four headed off in two different directions.

On the way, Chu Danqing broke the silence: "Yan Qi, is this your second trial and you’ve already encountered such a high-difficulty world?"

His question was a pretense—he wanted Yan Qi to assume Chu Danqing had already done his second trial.

Though meaningless, it effectively made others feel he wasn’t a newbie.

"Third time. Next one should be the Sprint Class bonus world." Yan Qi didn’t hide anything.

He had indeed accepted Chu Danqing as a first-rank second-trial apostle, so barring surprises, if they met again, it would be in second rank.

Yan Qi had full confidence in his own strength.

His situation was similar to Chu Danqing’s: he received a B in his Reserve status first assessment and an A in his first trial after first-rank promotion; all others were perfect ratings.

So while his growth rate couldn’t match Chu Danqing’s, it was still far beyond ordinary people.

"That’s about right—then the rank promotion assessment is coming soon," Chu Danqing replied, then asked: "For Reserve status, the Sprint Class bonus world gives basic skills—what about first rank?"

"Not advanced skills, right?"

Yan Qi shook his head: "No, I heard it’s related to talents."

"You know, Paradise is quite generous in this regard—it gives apostles who failed to awaken talents through rank promotion assessments another way to obtain them."

"But these talents aren’t as strong or as compatible as the ones we awaken through talent quests."

"They’re more like mass-produced—just fitting the system is already good enough."

"Still, getting multiple talents is always better—they’re just as foundational to our system as basic skills."

"Even if you don’t use them, selling them on the Plaza brings far more value than basic skills," Yan Qi had done his homework.

This information wasn’t valuable, so Yan Qi revealed it to Chu Danqing—he wouldn’t have said anything otherwise.

"This is our advantage," Yan Qi said. "We possess one extremely compatible and powerful talent, and we can still acquire more."

"The gap between us and ordinary apostles will keep widening."

"Eventually, we might not even be the same species," Yan Qi paused here. "After all, Paradise can enhance our bloodlines and change our races."

"All of these provide substantial bonuses."

Chu Danqing nodded—he couldn’t deny Yan Qi’s words; it was true.

Some apostles achieved greatness late, accumulating strength over time, but more often, one step behind meant falling further behind.

Paradise’s massive population and gentle growth environment made such apostles possible.

"By the way, with your strength, you’ve surely made it into the top thousand in the Arena," Yan Qi suddenly grinned wickedly. "You think it’s easy, right?"

"What do you mean?" Chu Danqing asked curiously.

"I’d say I’m one in ten million," Yan Qi’s grin deepened. "But among a ten-billion base, there are still ten million like me."

"Actually, the Arena isn’t a regular ranking—it’s a cross-regional ranking."

"Simplest example: if you reach the top ten and challenge the ninth place, what if that ninth place is currently on a trial mission?"

"So the ninth place you challenge might not be the ninth in your region, but the ninth from another region’s Arena ranking."

"Each Arena has its own regional ranking, but the matchmaking pool is cross-linked."

"If you win, your rank moves into his region’s ranking, without affecting matchmaking."

That’s why, early on, winning once moves you up one spot—it’s Paradise’s way of diverting traffic.

It’s not that your opponents are weak—it’s that you’ve been diverted.

"Only when you enter the top thousand does the matchmaking pool start further filtering and merging," Yan Qi explained.

Chu Danqing finally understood: ten billion people didn’t suddenly become strong at top thousand—it was to prevent apostles from missing ranking rewards due to trial missions.

He didn’t fully understand these mechanics because they held little relevance to him.

He just needed to use his raw strength to reach number one—he’d always lived a poor, two-point life, and couldn’t afford to use most of Paradise’s facilities.

Like equipment enhancement.

Yan Qi was different—he knew many of Paradise’s systems inside out, and Chu Danqing learned much from him.

He even said what he knew was average—Shuang Wen likely knew the most.

He was a member of the Element Tower’s apex—his strength was inferior, but his information network was far broader.

Just before reaching the map’s designated location, their conversation ended.

"Danger, Xiao Chu!" Da Bao grabbed Chu Danqing suddenly, his fur standing on end, making him look like a giant fluffy ball.

His instincts and intuition, through perception, sensed danger and flared wildly.

"Go in, die."

Then Da Bao clamped down on Chu Danqing, stopping him from advancing.

This behavior was unprecedented.

"That scary??" Chu Danqing’s expression changed.

"No, it’s not the people—it’s the rift. It’s open," Da Bao hurriedly said.

"Yinming rift?" Yan Qi asked.

He’d never seen one, but Chu Danqing had described it before.

"Yes, run," Da Bao said, then hoisted Chu Danqing onto his back and sprinted back.

Yan Qi watched, speechless—was it really that extreme?

Chu Danqing had escaped alive before—so facing it again, he’d still have a chance to flee.

"Sorry, I’ll go first—watch yourself," Chu Danqing, slung over Da Bao’s shoulder, looked up at Yan Qi, then adjusted into a more comfortable position.

If it were only the Death Messengers from the Death Realm, Chu Danqing might have dared to probe.

If the Yinming rift hadn’t opened yet, he’d have had a chance to stop it.

But since the Yinming rift was already open, staying meant certain death.

Because he’d experienced it firsthand, he knew the Underworld was beyond his capacity to fight.

As for the Death Messengers from the Death Realm? They followed the Underworld system—they might not be perfectly at home, but they coexisted peacefully.

A living person like Chu Danqing entering? Pure suicide.

Seeing Chu Danqing flee so decisively, Yan Qi hesitated, then sighed: "Fine—if even someone with your strength runs, I’ll stay and just die."

He’d seen Chu Danqing’s strength, and vaguely felt those summons weren’t even his true cards.

How could he possibly stubbornly keep going over there?

Besides, he dared come here only because he teamed up with Chu Danqing.

(End of Chapter)