Chapter 667: One and a Half Months! Emperor Zhou Xuan!

Let's be honest, shopping is a woman's nature.

Xu Jingming and Ling Shuang arrived at the mall just after nine in the morning.

By the time they finished picking out gifts and set off for their friend's house, it was already past eleven.

Of course,

during that time, the wealthy and carefree Ling Shuang couldn't help but buy a pile of ordinary clothes or battle suits for herself.

These battle suits were merely D-rank or C-rank, offering virtually no defensive value to Ling Shuang.

She cared mostly about their appearance.

"Last night alone, the Holy Church destroyed several Mandate Church outposts."

"They also captured several seventh-rank archbishops—how fast they moved."

In the passenger seat, Xu Jingming was surprised as he scrolled through the news on his phone.

Remember, back at Magic University,

finding and destroying even a single Mandate Church outpost took nearly half a month.

For the Holy Church to move this quickly was truly astonishing.

"The Holy Church has always been connected to the Mandate Church."

"These outposts were probably deliberately handed over by the Mandate Church to appease public anger."

Ling Shuang, driving the sports car, snorted.

"True."

Thinking of America's behavior, Xu Jingming felt this probability was indeed high.

"By the way, the United Nations is preparing to launch a Peak Rankings feature in the virtual world."

It will rank power users by strength—from first-rank to ninth-rank, nine separate lists.

Rankings will be settled monthly; those near the top will receive substantial resource rewards.

Will you participate?"

Ling Shuang asked.

"We'll see, but I probably won't." Xu Jingming shook his head.

"Why?" Ling Shuang asked, puzzled.

"Because among sixth-rank power users, no one is my match."

"Besides, I need to go into the Wild Zone—I don't have time to chase rankings."

Xu Jingming replied with a smile, his tone brimming with confidence.

"True."

Ling Shuang didn't deny it.

Xu Jingming was indeed formidable; his dominance among sixth-rankers was no lie.

Ling Shuang's friend was the elegant middle-aged woman Bai Sha, whom Xu Jingming had met once before.

After having a lavish lunch at her home, Xu Jingming returned to the villa.

He spent the entire afternoon in the virtual world with Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chu.

On New Year's Eve, he shared a deeply warm dinner with his aunt's family in the virtual world.

They also exchanged updates on their lives.

His cousin Tang Qi, now in her second year of university, had already broken through to lower sixth-rank.

Her cultivation progress was quite impressive for her power-user university.

Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chu had both broken through to upper third-rank.

Their strength placed them among the top tier at Magic University.

And Song Qiuyun was in her second year, Jiang Chu in her third—both had limitless potential.

Of course, they couldn't compare to Xu Jingming, who already possessed eighth-rank combat power—they weren't even in the same dimension...

The next day after New Year's Eve, Spring Festival.

In the morning, Xu Jingming accompanied Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chu shopping in the virtual world.

They bought a large pile of clothes and battle suits—all of which could only be worn in the virtual world.

But their prices were nearly identical to real-world ones; ordinary power users would never consider buying them.

But who cared? Xu Jingming had just made a fortune—he let the two girls buy whatever they wanted.

In the afternoon,

Xu Jingming donned his gear and re-entered the Wild Zone.

He began hunting beasts and harvesting power points.

"Campaign ended. All battalions and guilds, return behind the walls. Count casualties and report losses."

"Campaign ended. All battalions and guilds, return behind the walls. Count casualties and report losses..."

On April 4th, one and a half months later, at six in the evening.

Outside Mocheng's western wall, a massive electronic voice echoed repeatedly.

Outside the wall, blood had stained the already dark ground another layer of crimson.

Bodies—both beast and human—lay scattered everywhere.

"Sigh, our squad lost one main fighter—we'll need to recruit another teammate."

"Heh, you're lucky. Our squad lost one and had another critically injured—we won't be able to join the next campaign."

"That's really bad. You've trained together so long; adding a new member will hurt your combat effectiveness."

"..."

This campaign ended with designated personnel clearing the battlefield.

Many squads from the Degaka Battalion had withdrawn from the field.

As they exited through the alloy gate, they exchanged intelligence and murmured among themselves.

The frontlines had an extremely high death rate.

These sixth- and seventh-rank squads had long prepared for the loss of teammates.

Yet when it actually happened, they still couldn't help feeling sorrow.

At that moment, another six-man squad arrived at the alloy gate.

Every member of this squad radiated an astonishing aura.

On their left chests, their badges were either six-star or seven-star—and the leader bore an eight-star badge!

"It's Bloodblade Squad!"

"They've pulled back too."

"Wow, no wonder they're an elite master squad—still unscathed."

"..."

Many nearby power users cast envious glances.

Joining such a squad would drastically increase one's survival rate on the battlefield.

Among them was Xize, a young man who had joined Bloodblade Squad only two months ago.

Feeling the admiring stares around him, he straightened his back, his expression brimming with pride.

"How's it going, joining our squad, right?"

One of the big men in Bloodblade Squad asked with a grin.

"It's great. With all you guys around, my chance of dying on the battlefield has dropped dramatically."

Xize replied with a smile.

"Of course. That's why so many seventh-rank masters choose to operate in teams."

The big man boasted.

It was only because Xize came from a powerful background.

Otherwise, his mere six-star master strength would never have qualified him for an elite master squad like theirs.

"By the way, when I went through the strength certification,

I once invited someone to join our Bloodblade Squad—but he refused."

Xize shook his head. "He passed the seven-star master certification—his strength was decent.

But unfortunately, he was too arrogant, obsessed with operating alone."

"Teamwork is strongest. Every year there are fools like him."

"After the battlefield beats them down, they either die outright

or realize their limitations and join a squad."

The big man replied indifferently.

"Some powerful figures have gained fame by always acting alone."

The eight-star master squad leader, known as "Bloodblade," added with a smile.

"True, but such people are extremely rare. In Degaka Battalion, there are no more than five."

The big man shook his head.

As they spoke, Xize suddenly noticed a familiar figure ahead.

"Huh, talk of the devil."

Xize grinned and introduced to the Bloodblade squad: "There—he's the one who turned me down. Zhou Xuan."

The Blood Blade team members followed Xize's pointing direction.

They saw a man walking back from the battlefield outside the alloy gate.

The man appeared to be around thirty, with a rugged face.

He wore a black combat suit, appearing low-key and mysterious.

On his back was a fearsome, thick long spear, its blade caked in blood.

It seemed to speak of the many ferocious beasts he had slain in the recent battle.

He was tall and powerfully built; his gaze sweeping across them carried a faint sense of oppression.

"Huh? You mean him?"

The Blood Blade team members all showed expressions of surprise.

"What? Is there a problem?" Xize asked, puzzled.

"You haven't been to the front-line battlefield many times, so it's normal you don't know."

The burly man explained with a sigh, "This Zhou Xuan is extremely powerful; every time he appears on the front-line battlefield,

his kill count rivals that of an entire three-man team!

His fire-based ability is incredibly potent—within just over two months, he earned the nickname 'Flame Emperor'."