Chapter 256: Personally Retrieve the Stolen Sword【Side Activity Chapter】(Added extra chapter for May 2400 monthly votes)

Qin Chuan, completely unaware of how many people his successful conquest of an S‑rank secret realm had traumatized, adopted a keep‑your‑distance attitude; before any players wanting to chat with him could approach, he already began softly urging Yue Li to set out.

Yue Li covered her mouth and smiled, then quickly signaled Xiaoqing to set out.

Amid the regretful gazes of the crowd, the two vanished into the horizon; two hours later they landed at Luoyue Guild, each holding a dragon egg.

Several carved wooden ornaments now hung on the newly built outer wall of Luoyue Guild, making it look more lively.

Outside the guild, a large dining table stood in the open space, with a stove nearby; Leonhart, wearing an apron, was busy at the stove, and just as Qin Chuan and Yue Li returned he was carrying a big pot of cooked soup, which he set on the table.

"Haha, you're back just in time." Leonhart waved his ladle at the two, saying, "Welcome back, try my Dream World version of borscht."

"Good." Qin Chuan set down the black dragon egg he had been holding, took a bowl of the soup, tasted it, and gave Leonhart a thumbs‑up, saying, "The flavor is excellent."

"Looks like I have a talent for running a restaurant," Leonhart shrugged at Tiechui nearby, "after all, this was personally praised by Luo."

Tiechui laughed heartily, then glanced at the dragon eggs the two had placed on the ground and asked, "Are these the special rewards dropped from the S‑rank secret realm? Two eggs?"

Meanwhile, Evelyn and Hongye had already rushed over as soon as the two approached, circling the dragon eggs and staring without cease.

"Yeah, it's said they can hatch a spirit beast not found in the Dream World, though no one knows what it'll look like." Qin Chuan watched Evelyn cautiously reach out to touch the egg, chuckled, and said, "Go ahead and touch it; spirit‑beast eggs aren't that fragile."

"Yeah, someone on the way here kept slapping it hard." Yue Li gently set down the white dragon egg, adding, "If it were that fragile, it would have shattered hundreds of times by now."

Qin Chuan's mouth twitched, and he said, "Drink the soup; this soup is good."

Yue Li took a bowl from Leonhart, thanked him, and gave Qin Chuan an annoyed glance.

Heaven only knows how worried she was watching Qin Chuan play carelessly with the black dragon egg on the road.

"President, Vice‑president, I feel I should remind you," Tiechui said with a smile, "Do you know how to hatch a spirit‑beast egg?"

Upon hearing this question, Qin Chuan and Yue Li fell silent at the same time.

"Damn! Stumped!" "How about… imitating a real‑life hen hatching eggs?" Hongye cautiously extended a finger to poke the white dragon egg, then, after hearing the question, said, "Dig a pit, put the egg inside, and let a hen sit on top to hatch it."

"A hen?" Yue Li blinked, then suddenly glanced at the innocent‑looking Xiaoqing beside her.

Having just brought its beak to Yue Li's bowl to try the borscht, Xiaoqing silently drew its head back, wearing a solemn expression.

"It's a falcon, not a chicken! Hatching eggs… is that something it does?" "Xiao~qing~"

Hearing Yue Li's voice, Xiaoqing's falcon body trembled.

"Cry!"

"Leave it to me!" It spread its wings with a solemn expression, its size increasing somewhat.

Evelyn and Hongye had already dug a pit with remarkable speed and carefully placed the two dragon eggs inside.

Xiaoqing sat on the dragon eggs; at first it was a bit unskilled, but after wiggling its rear it seemed to activate some innate bloodline instinct and quickly grew accustomed.

Wait… why does it have this instinct if it's male?!

Xiaoqing fell into self‑doubt.

"Come on, Xiaoqing!" Yue Li said with smiling eyes.

Thus, the hatching problem was considered solved.

"Come on, come on! Try my fruit‑infused grilled meat steak!" Leonhart set a large piece of meat on the table, and the rich meat aroma instantly made everyone's mouths water.

After a satisfying feast of food and drink, the Dream World entrance was not far from closing; Yue Li pulled Qin Chuan aside and handed him resources one by one.

"What is this?" Qin Chuan blinked.

"Dalasayi is still alive." Yue Li whispered, "You didn't tell me that Dalasayi masters water‑type power, so you and Shui Hua Lingjiang would have trouble dealing with him?" "Then let's quickly let Xuegao break through to Epic rank and switch to a different power to fight him."

"It's fine if I break through a bit later." She looked at the youth before her, eyes showing barely concealed tension and worry, "You must be careful."

"Okay." Qin Chuan felt warm inside, couldn't help but take the girl's hand, and said, "I promise I'll stay safe."

Yue Li let Qin Chuan hold her hand, her eyes lowering slightly, "Then that's settled."

The day before yesterday, after crafting the Halo equipment for Shui Hua, Qin Chuan obtained two materials from conquering an A‑rank secret realm yesterday and exchanged his personal points earned that day for another two materials.

Today the two only cleared one S‑rank dungeon, which dropped one random Legendary resource, one self‑selected Epic resource, and several low‑tier resources, with no Halo equipment materials.

Now, as Yue Li handed her five random materials to Qin Chuan, the nine Halo equipment materials were complete, allowing the gear for Xuegao to be crafted at any time.

But they were still lacking many Epic‑tier resources.

Of the seven Epic resources acquired before yesterday, Yue Li had originally taken only one, while the other six had been consumed by Shui Hua's breakthrough yesterday.

Adding today's one, there remains a shortage of four Epic resources.

The total points reward for a two‑star S‑rank dungeon is 70,000; even if not split evenly, it cannot be exchanged for four items.

Thus, Xuegao can at best break through to Epic rank tomorrow.

After reckoning it in his mind, Qin Chuan put the resources back into Yue Li's hands, saying, "Anyway, we can't break through today, so I'll leave the resources with you for now."

"After we clear the secret realm tomorrow, I'll come to you for whatever we're missing."

Yue Li lifted her head, gazing at the boy's bright eyes, momentarily lost in thought, then after a while let out a soft "uh."

Blue Star, Beijing time, 8:00.

On a sea island in the Pacific international waters, a figure seated cross‑legged in a rock‑cave twitched slightly, its form shifting from illusion to reality in an instant.

Dalasayi slowly opened his eyes, his azure irises glinting with a faint smile.

At the time of the Heavenly Stairway's return, he went back to the world of the half‑demon.

There he saw his sister, who never called him "older brother" in a proper manner, and from her he learned an unexpected piece of news.

In her region, an ominous land had begun to manifest as a dungeon.

A hint of apprehension flashed in Dalasayi's eyes.

The origin of this ominousness is a riddle that the Heavenly Stairway has never been able to solve.

It brings mutation and madness, yet it is a crucial reliance for the races of the Heavenly Stairway to enter other worlds via dungeons.

Never mind, this is not a problem for someone at his level of power to consider.

Even at the Mythic stage, one is powerless to resist the ominous.

Dalasayi shook his head, pressed down his tangled thoughts, and recalled his sister's words before the return period ended.

Dalaisai, the passage will open in two days; I don't want your response speed to be slower than the speed at which humans destroy the passage.

I will personally retrieve the sword that was taken from me.

He couldn't help but smile a bit more.

What an impolite fellow. —

(End of chapter)