Chapter 274

With Evelyn's friendly assistance, the originally somewhat stalemated battle quickly yielded a result.

As the five giant wolves collapsed one after another, the four spirit beasts swiftly returned.

When Hong Ye acted, the male and female had already stopped, panting as they looked this way; after the giant wolf was killed, the male pulled the female and hurried over to the three.

"Thank you so much, otherwise I and my sister would have to delete our accounts and start over." The male wiped sweat from his forehead, showing a look of lingering fear, "I didn't expect the wilderness to be so dangerous."

"Having so many Elite Tier together is rare even in the wilderness." Hong Ye smiled, "I recall there's a Dragon Gate Camp not far away; didn't you go there?"

"Uh..." The male showed a slightly embarrassed expression, "In fact, we just came from there."

"Today we saw Luo and Yue Li's recruitment message in the cross-server channel, so we wanted to come try out for the Luoyue Guild."

"Did the president and vice-president send a message?" Hong Ye showed a puzzled expression.

"We got it; when we were clearing today's first secret realm, I happened to see it." Lai Ang Ha Te laughed heartily, "Afterwards, quite a few players should come for the try‑out."

"Are you members of the Luoyue Guild?" Hearing their conversation, the male, who had no idea who the three before him were, suddenly widened his eyes in surprise.

"Yes." Hong Ye smiled, "Fortunately we arrived in time to help; otherwise the guild might have missed these two interviewees."

"It just so happens we're heading back to the guild; want to come along?"——

【00:00:09】

Watching the two Legend-rank Lv53 Spirit Beasts collapse with a boom, Qin Chuan revealed a satisfied expression.

6 seconds.

The consumption of Time Stop was less than he had expected.

This way, even if he clears one S-rank secret realm each day thereafter, Time Stop can maintain supply-demand balance.

The conquest target turned into scattered specks of light across the sky, leaving only two piles of resources on the spot.

At the top of the resources were a pitch-black bone spear and a clump of pitch-black flame, respectively.

That was the special reward corresponding to the two extra modifiers.

Yue Li, who was outside scattering and blocking other secret realm Spirit Beasts, arrived just in time; upon seeing the two special rewards, she couldn't help but laugh.

"With our clearing speed, we'll probably obtain all special rewards from future S-rank secret realms as well."

"Yeah." Qin Chuan nodded with a smile, "The Darkflame goes to Silver Horn; the Darkspear is currently useless."

"Do you plan to contract a dark-element Spirit Beast in the future?" He looked at Yue Li, "If so, I can leave it for you to use later."

"I won't contract a dark-element Spirit Beast." Yue Li shook her head, "Barring any surprises, upon advancing to Legend-rank player, I should be able to contract six Spirit Beasts."

"As for the higher Mythic Stage, I'm not sure."

She glanced at Qin Chuan and smiled as she said, "Our currently contracted eight Spirit Beasts all have different attributes, and there are twelve attributes in total for Spirit Beasts."

"In that case, how could we not gather the remaining four attributes?"

"Not a bad idea." Qin Chuan stepped forward, pulled out the Darkspear, "In that case, let's keep this extra modifier for now."

Who knows, maybe we'll meet a kindred spirit later? "Silver Horn, go absorb the Darkflame."

Silver Horn had long been drooling over that clump of Darkflame; now, without hesitation, it charged forward, turning itself into a mass of black light-flame and merging with the Darkflame.

When Silver Horn returned to its original state, the clump of Darkflame had vanished; when Qin Chuan checked Silver Horn's panel again, he discovered a new modifier had appeared.

【Extra Modifier: 【Scorching Shade: Damage reduction increased by 60%; for each 1% of damage reduction, gain an additional 1% damage bonus, unaffected by the damage reduction cap】】

Besides that, Silver Horn's favorability rose from 98% to 99%.

That counts as an extra joy.

The two quickly gathered the resources here and left after the Descent of Teleportation Power. —

Area 5149, headquarters of the Luoyue Guild.

On an open space not far from the guild, more than twenty players gazed from afar at the newly constructed, imposing Luoyue Guild building, whispering to each other.

They were all players who had come for the interview, and because they were relatively close, they arrived the fastest.

According to the introduction by the White Bear Nation player named Iron Hammer who received them, the Luoyue Guild's interview is conducted by Vice Guild Master Yue Li, but Yue Li is not currently in the guild.

So they need to wait.

Although so, these people had not the slightest complaint.

If the Luoyue Guild's treatment really is as Luo and Yue Li said, then waiting just a few hours is absolutely worth it.

"What do you say the entry threshold for the Luoyue Guild is?" a player built like a middle-aged burly man couldn't help but ask, "They don't seem to have explained this point."

"It's been explained." Not far from him, a girl with a ponytail spoke up, "The Luoyue Guild only recruits players of Official rank or above."

As soon as her words fell, a scoffing sound arose nearby.

That was a bald man with several scars on his head.

"Hey little sis, you're not really naive enough to think that's the threshold, are you?"

"Come on, this is the number one guild in the Dream World!"

"If Official-rank players can just get in, what chance do we have?"

"There must be other thresholds; they're just not stated outright."

Upon saying that, it immediately gained the agreement of many players.

After all, that only makes sense.

"The number two guild, Dragon Gate No. 1, doesn't recruit outsiders." Another buzz-cut player shook his head helplessly, "The number three guild, Silver Dagger, now doesn't even require purple talent."

"Among the top ten guilds, the lowest threshold for recruitment is purple talent."

"The Luoyue Guild's hidden threshold is at least purple talent, and quite likely red talent." The buzz-cut man grinned, "I've already probed those few Luoyue Guild members, but sadly they're tight-lipped and haven't revealed their respective talent levels."

"If the threshold is red talent, then I'm out." The buzz-cut man spread his hands, "I suppose you all are like me, here to try your luck with purple talent, right?"

As soon as he said that, everyone looked at each other and fell silent.

The ponytail girl who had spoken earlier clenched her face tight, her hands unconsciously gripping, and upon hearing the conversation of those few people, she instantly grew nervous.

The boy standing beside her pulled her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

The two were precisely the brother and sister rescued by Hongye.

Let's see, maybe the requirements of Luoyue Guild are something else?" he said softly.

No one in the venue objected, because this was also what they hoped for.

How could a red player's talent be so easily drawn? 'Huh? Is that it?' a player suddenly exclaimed, pointing toward the horizon.

Other players followed the sound and soon saw two small dots, one black and one white, rapidly enlarging in the air.

Once they made out the outlines, everyone exclaimed in surprise.

My goodness, it's actually a dragon!

I heard Luo and Yue Li recently conquered the S-rank secret realm Black and White Dragon Nest; this must have been their reward then." The crowd felt envy, and at the same time grew increasingly tense.

Luo and Yue Li have returned, meaning their interview is about to begin. —

Leaping down from Xiao Hei's back, Qin Chuan was in high spirits.

Not only did Silver Horn gain an extra trait, greatly increasing its strength, but on the way back he and Yue Li also happened to conquer an A-rank 5-star secret realm.

Previously, conquering an A-rank 5-star secret realm required consuming one or two seconds of Time Stop, but this time they succeeded directly without consuming any Time Stop.

This means that A-rank secret realms no longer need to consume Time Stop from now on, which is obviously a good thing.

President! Vice President! So many interviewees have arrived!" Hongye rushed over to the two, showing an excited expression, pointing to a nearby open space: "They're all there."

Perhaps tomorrow I can build an interview reception hall?" Tiechui walked up behind, arms crossed, chuckling, "Let's see how many people can pass the interview today."

Actually, they didn't need to say it; Qin Chuan and Yue Li had already noticed when they arrived.

From now on, it's up to me.

Yue Li laughed, tugged at Qin Chuan's sleeve, and turned to walk toward the twenty-odd nervous interviewees.

The interview results were not bad.

In the end, three players passed the Prayer Command screening and smoothly joined Luoyue Guild.

Luoyue Guild's membership also increased from six to nine.

The brother-sister pair rescued by Hongye and the others were indeed on the list, the brother's game name being Red Maple and the sister's game name being Pond Rain.

Red Maple's player talent is Red Talent Lock-Phase; the first talent effect can dispel all negative effects afflicting the Contract Spirit Beast, with a cooldown of 10 minutes; the second talent effect can lock one attribute of a designated target for 60 seconds, usable only once per Dream World day.

This second talent effect is very strong; its effect differs greatly depending on the attribute it is applied to—it can lock the allied Spirit Beast's life, achieving a 60-second life lock, or it can solidify the allied buffs or enemy debuffs for 60 seconds.

Pond Rain's player talent is Purple Talent Maintenance; the first talent effect increases the healing effect of the Contract Spirit Beast's healing-type skills by 150%; the second talent effect links the Contract Spirit Beast with a target Spirit Beast, making the target bear 60% of the damage, and can link multiple targets simultaneously.

This is a talent heavily focused on support; if the second talent effect is used poorly, it could even cause the user to die suddenly.

But if combined with her brother's talent, things would become interesting.

The brother and sister eventually joined Hongye's trio's small team.

This way, Luoyue Guild finally managed to assemble a full-strength strike team.

Once this brother-sister pair advances to Elite rank, they will be able to smoothly conquer all secret realms below A-rank.

Another member hails from Everlasting Nation, named spoon (soup spoon).

Spoon's player talent is Purple Talent Strong Strike; the first talent effect increases the Contract Spirit Beast's next attack damage by 100%, with a 15-minute cooldown; the second talent effect can increase it by 200%, but only once per Dream World day.

Compared to this low-ranking enhancement-type talent in Luoyue Guild, his main reason for being able to join Luoyue Guild is his cooking skill.

This man, hailing from the Everlasting Nation regarded as a 'culinary desert', possesses cooking skills that unexpectedly elicit astonished applause.

It is said he travels year-round across various countries, so he is skilled at all kinds of cuisine.

After he made a bowl of authentically flavored spicy boiled fish, Qin Chuan and Yue Li had no doubts whatsoever.

The job of the part-time chef Leonhart was thus formally taken over by the full-time chef spoon.

Tiechui, this veteran official, also gained a companion to chat with.

Once the interview is finished, the Dream World Entrance is not far from closing.

In the final moments of this dream day, the new guild members enjoyed the food prepared with spoons while quickly getting to know each other, then…

Silver Horn's affection reached 100%. —

The real world.

Qin Chuan sat up from the bed, glanced at the time, then quickly got up and began washing up and changing clothes.

The three roommates heard the commotion and slowly woke up.

Zhou Xiaochen still not fully awake rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Chuan Die, did you get up too early? We don't have class until this afternoon."

"There's a dark-system theory lecture later, first period this morning." Qin Chuan picked up his textbook, a smile appearing on his face.

Just then, Silver Horn's affection was maxed out, and it also came into reality at this moment.

Before, he had tried to get Shui Hua and ice cream to understand the corresponding attribute's extraordinary theory, but these two guys couldn't manage it.

Silver Horn has been smart since childhood.

Let it try.

After Qin Chuan left the dormitory, Zhou Xiaochen lay on the bed and stretched, saying, "Otherwise they'd say Chuan Die is impressive, being so enthusiastic about just a theory lecture."

"Anyway, I went to class yesterday, and from the third minute onward I didn't understand a thing, but it works great as a sleep aid."

"Do you guys think Chuan Die can understand? I heard his high school grades weren't great."

"You don't need to worry about whether they can understand." Du He'an finally couldn't stand this talk, "As long as their significant other can understand, that's enough, you single."

Zhou Xiaochen remained silent, then slapped himself hard across the face.

"I really shouldn't have asked!"

On the other side, in the classroom where the dark-system theory basics were about to be taught, the students already seated in their spots, taking advantage of the time before class, couldn't help but sneak glances at the two people sitting by the window.

Sunlight spilled from the window onto the desk; a boy flipped through his textbook, his handsome side profile glowing in the light—just that sight was enough to make countless girls' hearts flutter, and besides, the boy possessed one of only two tremendous powers in the world.

When they saw the girl leaning her head toward the boy, whispering to him, occasionally flashing a smile brighter than the sunlight, many in the classroom couldn't help but feel moved.

Indeed, only one of the world's only two is worthy of the other.

Zheng Xiao Yu rested one hand on her cheek, the other twirling a pen casually; the pen flipped between her slender fingers, yet her gaze couldn't help but linger on the couple sitting in the front row.

Suddenly, a strange sense of relief rose in her heart.

Lin Yue's leg had healed; from now on she wouldn't have to be the third wheel between them during class every day.

When she wanted to ship them, she could sit behind them and swoon openly; when she didn't want to witness their PDA, she could sit far away, not glancing at them even once.

This feeling is really great.

Thinking of this, Zheng Xiao Yu couldn't help but giggle.

"Xiao Yu, what are you laughing at?" Lin Yue heard the voice from behind, turned her head curiously.

"Ah… nothing, just thought of something funny." Zheng Xiao Yu hurriedly replied.

"All right." Lin Yue nodded, then suddenly said, "Last night we refreshed a three-person S-rank dungeon; after class, do you want to join us two to clear it?"

Zheng Xiao Yu's expression stiffened.

What? She still has to be a third wheel in the dungeon?!

"Just like before, I'll supplement your Dream World resources."

"Sure thing! On call, on demand!" —

(End of chapter)