Chapter 273: Pressure Has Been Shifted to Other Guilds (Combined)

President, Vice President, we're setting off!

Although we're still two members short of full, Yi Fulín, Hong Ye, and Lai Ang Ha Te have already formed a fixed strike team.

The hatching of Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai was just a minor incident; watching the two Juvenile Stage Spirit Beasts before them instantly become Hall Tier Lv40 was quite a stimulus for the three.

Right now, they just want to quickly boost their strength and soon possess a Hall Tier Spirit Beast.

"Watch out on the road!" Yue Li waved goodbye to the departing trio, then turned to Qin Chuan beside her and said, "We should also choose which secret realm to tackle today."

"Hmm." Qin Chuan gave a slight nod.

Having a fourth pet means the resources needed to break through Epic Tier have increased by one.

We still can't afford to be lax.

Opening the secret realm info, the two checked the nine S-rank secret realms nearby; soon Yue Li's face lit up with delight: "Our luck is great today!"

"You mean the Dark Corridor?" Qin Chuan smiled.

"Exactly." Yue Li nodded.

What they were referring to is an S-rank 3-star secret realm located four zones away.

Compared to the nine S-rank secret realms refreshed nearby today, this S-rank secret realm offers the best rewards, with two possible special drops: the Dark Spear and the Dark Fire.

【Dark Spear: Dark Spirit Beast usable; Spirit Beast holding Dark Spear gains the extra affix【Dark Slaughter】, attack increased 140%, damage bonus increased 60%】

【Dark Fire: Dark Spirit Beast usable; Spirit Beast holding Dark Fire gains the extra affix【Gloom Scorch】, damage reduction increased 60%, each 1% damage reduction grants an additional 1% damage bonus, not affected by the damage reduction cap】

Comparing the affix【Dark Slaughter】with the standard attack affix of Moon Halo level 10, the former provides an extra 60% damage bonus, surpassing Moon Halo's affix strength; it already meets the standard for top-tier rewards.

However, the affix that moves Qin Chuan more is【Gloom Scorch】.

The affix obtained from this secret realm is clearly usable only by Silver Horn.

Compared to the pure damage boost of【Dark Slaughter】, 【Gloom Scorch】is far more suited to Silver Horn's current situation.

Damage reduction is an attribute with an effectiveness cap, maxing out at 90%, reducing incoming damage to one-tenth.

Damage bonus, on the other hand, is an attribute that cancels out damage reduction.

If the defender has 40% damage reduction and the attacker has 40% damage bonus, the two attributes directly offset each other, resulting in an effective value of zero.

If the defender has 120% damage reduction, then whether the attacker's damage bonus is 0% or 30%, the damage dealt is the same; if the attacker's damage bonus exceeds 30%, the offset result falls below 90%, leading to higher damage.

So, although damage reduction has an effectiveness cap, overflow is not completely useless.

The 60% damage reduction from【Gloom Scorch】, added to Silver Horn's own damage reduction, easily pushes the damage reduction attribute above 90%.

Moreover, 【Gloom Scorch】increases damage bonus in tandem with damage reduction, and the portion exceeding 90% continues to grow; there's no doubt its final improvement surpasses that of【Dark Slaughter】.

More importantly, its balanced offense-defense trait also suits Silver Horn perfectly.

"The Dark Corridor is close by; if we have enough time we can also swing by an A-rank 5-star secret realm on the way." Qin Chuan nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at the Time Stop.

【00:00:15】

"Yesterday we cleared the Sai Mi Ya Abyss; at the end he had only 7 seconds of Time Stop left, and upon exiting the dungeon he gained an extra second, bringing it to 8 seconds."

"Those extra seven seconds were earned from clearing an A-rank dungeon together with Yue Li."

"If time weren't limited, we could have gotten even more."

"During the previous assault on the Black White Dragon Nest, Qin Chuan consumed a full 18 seconds of Time Stop."

"But this time things are different from before."

"First, Xue Gao has broken through to Epic Tier, meaning his overall strength has greatly increased."

"Second, Xiao Hei has joined the team."

"Don't be fooled by Xiao Hei currently being only Hall Tier; though its output falls short against Legendary Tier foes, it can grant the target a very important effect."

【Crush】, reduce defense, increase damage

"Combined with Silver Horn's defense reduction, the two can more quickly reduce the target's defense to zero during Time Stop, allowing Shui Hua and Xue Gao to deal even higher damage."

"So this time Qin Chuan is confident of ending the battle within 10 seconds."

"Let's set out." Qin Chuan took a deep breath, looked at Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai, felt a stir, and said, "How about we ride Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai this time?"

"He hasn't tried the feeling of riding a dragon yet."

"Sure thing!" Yue Li laughed and nodded.

Ya~

"Xiao Hei let out a long cry, slowly lowered its head, and came to rest before Qin Chuan."

"On its broad back protruded a row of bony spikes; Qin Chuan grabbed one, steadied himself, and Shui Hua, Xue Gao, and Silver Horn climbed on behind him, feeling quite novel."

"On the other side, Yue Li, Xiao Hong, and Xiao Zi sat on Xiao Bai's back, while Xiao Qing alone flapped its wings and hovered in midair."

"As the sky's overlord, it absolutely refuses to sit on another Spirit Beast!"

"President, Vice President, stay safe!" Noticing the two were about to depart, Tie Hui in the distance shouted and waved at them.

"Got it!" Qin Chuan gave a firm nod.

"Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai's dragon wings flapped hard; their massive bodies shot up into the sky. Though not as swift as the fastest wind-types, they were by no means slow."

"A black and a white dragon, each ten meters long, took off simultaneously, making quite a spectacular sight."

"However, the flying experience was not as wonderful as imagined."

"Qin Chuan and Yue Li both felt the violent wind sting their cheeks, making speech difficult, far from the ease and comfort of riding Xiao Qing before."

"Xiao Qing beside them showed an 'as expected' expression, let out a cry, and a pale cyan light membrane instantly appeared before Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai, easily blocking the fierce wind."

"Qin Chuan and Yue Li both exhaled in relief."

"Xiao Qing then gave Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai an encouraging look and continued to circle them in flight."

"Probably because Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai were hatched with its help, whenever it looks at them it feels a strange sensation like watching its own children, and it doesn't get angry even if the mount position is taken."

"As the scenery below rushed by in reverse, the settled Qin Chuan thought of Tie Hui, wore a thoughtful expression, and said, 'You know… should our guild recruit a few logistics members?'"

"Now Yi Fulín, Hong Ye, and Lai Ang Ha Te form the guild's first strike team, clearing secret realms together every day, while Uncle Tie Hui stays alone in the guild to handle construction and improvements, always feeling rather lonely."

"What you say also makes sense." Yue Li showed a thoughtful expression, "Mainly, there are too few players coming for the interview, so finding suitable members is slow."

"Speaking of which, the players who come to our guild for interviews seem to have always been few?" Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow.

Although there are a few each dream day, this completely does not match the status of the First Guild.

"There is a reason for this." Yue Li helplessly glanced at Qin Chuan, "One aspect is that our guild's recruitment requirement is to decide after the interview."

"I looked into it; other guilds with fixed headquarters directly accept applications, then have guild members come over after approval, and if a member's strength is weak, they even arrange someone to pick them up."

"Compared like that, our guild's requirements are somewhat discouraging."

"After all, running a long distance at great risk doesn't guarantee passing the interview."

"Besides that, there is another aspect." Yue Li's voice paused slightly, "It seems we haven't been very active in recruiting on the cross-server channel so far."

"I learned this when chatting with interviewees before; because of this, many people hesitate, worrying that we actually don't need to recruit many members." Yue Li glanced at Qin Chuan, "After all, our two strengths are right here."

"So that's how it is." Qin Chuan scratched his head.

He really hadn't considered all that.

"If that's the case, let's try recruiting on the cross-server channel." Qin Chuan opened the cross-server channel and briefly organized his wording.

【【Hall Tier】 Luo (5149): Luoyue Guild recruiting, Group Formation Chart total level 87, hurry!

Unlike the guild channel, the cross-server channel directly displays player level, and the chat windows differ by level; the higher the level, the more conspicuous.

At that moment, as Qin Chuan's message was sent, the cross-server channel that had been popping up messages like a waterfall suddenly fell silent.

Although the number of guilds reaching Guild Level Lv2 so far is still a single digit, the new features unlocked by Lv2 are already common knowledge.

Group Formation Chart requires guild players to complete daily exclusive conquests, earn conquest points, then upgrade; previously the guild ranked second, Longmen No. 1 Guild, had once disclosed that its Group Formation Chart total level had risen to 34.

The third-ranked Silver Dagger Guild's Group Formation Chart total level is 29.

And now, Luoyue Guild's Group Formation Chart total level is revealed for the first time, actually reaching as high as 87?!

What does that mean?!

This means that when a player joins Luoyue Guild, the benefit from the Group Formation Chart alone is equivalent to having an additional high-level player talent!

Yue Li beside him glanced at Qin Chuan and covered her mouth with a smile.

【【Hall Tier】 Yue Li (5149): Luoyue Guild recruiting, members who actively conquer Secret Realms also receive extra reward resources, hurry!

The two Hall Tier players' messages swept past, and the cross-server channel with billions online fell silent to the point of not a single message.

What? There are extra resource rewards?

Isn't conquering a Secret Realm itself about obtaining Secret Realm rewards?

On top of that, there are extra resource rewards!

That's right, the Secret Realms Luo and Yue Li conquer are either S-rank or A-rank; the lower-tier resources dropped by these Secret Realms may vary in type, but they are plentiful!

It's possible that one Secret Realm drops a dozen or so random low-level resources, while another drops seven or eight random Starlight Equipment; such situations are all possible!

After collecting everything, Luo and Yue Li will have a large amount of resources they themselves can't use; just letting a few slip through their fingers is enough for lower-level players to instantly soar!

Although no one had previously considered this problem, the vast majority assumed that Luo and Yue Li's way of handling these useless resources was to sell them.

Unexpectedly, they actually used these as rewards for other guild members!

At this moment, countless players looked toward the guild leader and deputy guild leader of their own guild.

The pressure fell upon the founders of all guilds.

The entire cross-server channel instantly exploded.

Countless players quickly sent messages, inquiring about various matters related to joining a guild.

Qin Chuan casually picked a few replies to respond to, then immediately closed the cross-server channel.

"There are too many messages." He couldn't help but exclaim, "Everyone is really enthusiastic!"

Yue Li glanced at Qin Chuan and smiled with pursed lips.

"This time, you shouldn't have to worry about nobody coming."

——

Whoosh—

Hong Ye and the three were enveloped by teleportation power and instantly appeared outside the spacetime rift corresponding to a B-rank Secret Realm.

This is the second B-rank 1-star Secret Realm they have jointly conquered today; they are somewhat tired, but more excited.

"This is actually the first time we've obtained a Hall Crystal!" Evelyn excitedly said.

"Indeed, our luck is great this time." Leonhart laughed, gripping a Hall Crystal wrapped in invisible power, after a moment's thought he said, "Earlier the deputy guild leader made a guild contribution reward list."

"According to our three's contributions from conquering Secret Realms and exclusive conquests, we should be rewarded with one Hall Crystal, making it two in total."

"I don't need the Hall Crystal; you and Evelyn take one each." Hong Ye smiled and said, "Just give me some extra Advanced Resources."

Earlier, when doing a dungeon with Qin Chuan, Yue Li had already given her a Hall Crystal.

"Good." Leonhart nodded, smiling, "This way, all three of us will have our first Hall Tier Spirit Beast."

"With a Hall Tier Spirit Beast, we might be able to try 2-star or 3-star difficulty."

Hong Ye and Evelyn nodded in unison.

As the three were speaking, suddenly a Spirit Beast behind them let out a cry.

That was Hong Ye's third Contracted Spirit Beast, the Wind-absorbing Butterfly; among the nine Spirit Beasts of the three, it has the strongest perception.

Upon hearing the Wind-absorbing Butterfly's sound, Hong Ye quickly showed a surprised expression, looking toward a direction, "It seems there is a player calling for help over there."

"Shall we go check?"

Leonhart mounted the Unicorn Ground Dragon and made a "please" gesture toward the two women.

"I don't really want to meddle in this…" Evelyn muttered, but before she finished speaking, Hong Ye pulled her onto the back of the Unicorn Ground Dragon, her expression instantly gaining a hint of resignation.

The Unicorn Ground Dragon strode forward swiftly, rushing toward the direction where the Wind-absorbing Butterfly detected movement.

Soon, the three saw two figures fleeing in panic.

They were a man and a woman; right now their expressions were a little panicked, and four Growth Tier Spirit Beasts closely followed them.

Behind them, five Elite Tier flame-wreathed giant wolves followed at a leisurely pace, not unleashing full speed, seemingly planning to strike only after the two were exhausted.

Go!

Hongye showed a worried expression, and without hesitation pointed toward the five giant wolves.

The other side called for help in Chinese, so naturally we should lend a hand.

The three Spirit Beasts behind her sprang into action instantly.

The Elite Tier, with its stats maxed out, was naturally formidable; even though they were outnumbered, the three Spirit Beasts fighting together managed to hold their own against the opponents.

It's a pity that in a battle where both sides' strength is evenly matched, the Lingpan School is of little use.

"Evelyn~" Hongye shook the hand of the little girl beside her.

The little girl, with a blade of grass between her lips, couldn't help but curl her mouth into a hint of triumph.

"Alright, I really can't do anything about you."

She snapped her fingers, and a Spirit Beast behind her surged in power, joining the battle.

(End of chapter)