Chapter 341: Discovering the Secrets Within the Instance, Commencing a Speed Run

Whirlwind Tiger instantly endured four thousand Elemental Explosions and four thousand attacks from Skeleton Snipers.

It let out a final wail, and the level‑44 boss of this Hell Difficulty Instance crashed to the ground, instantly killed.

Jiang Chen inhaled deeply; although he had expected it, the scene still left him stunned.

Even though he had previously instant‑killed a BOSS, it had only been possible with the "Strong Soldier" skill.

The "Strong Soldier" skill is powerful, but it is not Jiang Chen's class skill and could vanish at any time.

Jiang Chen has never intended to rely on that skill, trying to avoid it whenever possible.

This instant kill used no external skill, relying solely on his own class abilities and strength.

The system notification sounds rang in succession:

"Defeated Whirlwind Tiger, Experience +1,760,000"

"Obtained Whirlwind Fist Gauntlet"

"Obtained Whirlwind Fragment"

"Whirlwind Fist Gauntlet: Platinum Grade Weapon, All Attributes +1000, Fist‑type Skill Amplify 60%."

"Whirlwind Fragment: Five Whirlwind Fragments can be combined into a Whirlwind Crystal."

The Whirlwind Fist Gauntlet is a Platinum Grade Weapon; though relatively mediocre, Jiang Chen considers it insignificant.

It has no skill bonus—just All Attributes +1000 and Fist‑type Skill Amplify 60%.

Jiang Chen glanced at it and tossed it into storage.

Another loot item was Whirlwind Fragment; five of them can form a Whirlwind Crystal.

After the Whirlwind Tiger fell, Jiang Chen did not enter the palace directly, but carefully searched the surroundings.

Having learned the lesson from the previous "Water God Courtyard" Instance, he knows that careless searching may miss valuable items.

He searched around for a while, but seemed to find nothing.

The Whirlwind Tiger's corpse had already dispersed with the wind after death; even the bloodstains were blown dry and vanished.

The palace entrance was empty, and the palace doors were spotless, not a speck of dust left.

The stone walls of this palace were barren, a stark contrast to the "Water God Courtyard."

"It seems the Wind God likes simplicity."

"If so, why place a gem here?"

At the top of the palace sat an inconspicuous small gem.

The gem emitted a faint cyan glow, blending with the azure stone palace wall, invisible unless examined closely.

Jiang Chen's sharp eyes still caught it.

The Skeleton Warrior took the gem down.

"Whirlwind Gem"

"Whirlwind Gem: permanently reduces Wind Element damage by 50%, with a chance to acquire a Wind‑type skill."

"Indeed."

A smile tugged at his lips, his Spiritual Power flickered slightly, activating the Whirlwind Gem.

A gale howled in, swirling around Jiang Chen, wind roaring in his ears.

After a minute, the gale ceased.

He did not gain a skill, only increased Wind Element immunity.

That was still within his expectations.

The probability of obtaining a skill is very low.

Getting two skills from the Poisonous Gem and Light Gem is already lucky.

Stepping through the palace doors, the interior was spacious and equally plain in layout.

The floor was paved with azure stone, constantly brushed by wind, now polished like a mirror.

Jiang Chen felt he might slip while walking on it.

At the palace's far end lay a long corridor, connecting to an even more grand palace.

The grandeur was simply vast, plain and unadorned, yet exuded an extraordinary aura.

Suddenly a massive whirlwind burst from the corridor, attempting to sweep Jiang Chen away.

But Jiang Chen stood unmoved; a flash of his Bone Armor's light blocked the whirlwind's force.

"Not enough power!"

Four thousand Skeleton Great Mages acted together.

Under a barrage of concentrated fire, the whirlwind was instantly shattered.

A wisp of wind gently settled on the ground.

Jiang Chen, curious, found that what landed was a wind wisp.

He pinched it in his hand, feeling the wind roll in his palm, emitting a faint whoosh.

It was as if someone whispered beside his ear.

He squeezed it; it was soft, like cotton.

He had never imagined being able to hold wind in his hand; the sensation was wondrous.

"Wind God whispers: can be used to awaken the Wind God."

After toying with it for a while, Jiang Chen stored it away.

"Now we only lack the Wind God Key."

Following the traits of the previous three elemental Instances.

Besides an item that can awaken the corresponding deity, there should also be a key that can open the Temple.

Jiang Chen searched around again, and this time found nothing.

After Jiang Chen confirmed there was nothing, he walked through the corridor and arrived at the grand palace entrance.

A plaque had been added to the palace, and the plaque bore nothing.

Jiang Chen found it odd—if there was nothing, why hang a plaque?

Moreover, the previous palace had no plaque.

Since the Wind God likes simplicity, there shouldn't be such a plaque.

The plaque looks rather out of place.

A thought sparked, and the Skeleton Warrior immediately leapt up to take the plaque down.

The plaque shrank rapidly as soon as it left the palace.

It finally became a small jade token.

"Wind God Key: can open the true Wind God Temple."

His intuition was correct; the plaque indeed had an issue.

With the three-piece set in hand, all that's left is to defeat the BOSS and obtain Whirlwind Crystals.

Whirlwind Crystals are used to forge Elemental Divine Stones, so don't miss them.

The Undead Legion surged into the palace a step ahead of Jiang Chen.

The palace was undecorated, empty and barren, with only a beast lying there.

Only after the Skeletons entered did it slowly open its eyes and awaken.

The moment it opened its eyes, wind elements burst forth.

In an instant the palace filled with countless whirlwinds of all sizes, instantly engulfing the Undead Legion.

The Lich General raised his staff and lazily healed.

There were many whirlwinds, but their attack power was honestly not great.

The giant beast then let out a roar, its whole body trembling, while whirlwinds enveloped it.

Jiang Chen stepped in and snapped his fingers.

"Wind God Mount (Hell-level Chief)"

"Level: 45"

"Power: 70000"

"......"

Jiang Chen was too lazy to look; the attribute values didn't matter.

The Skeleton Berserkers had already charged forward, breaking through the outer whirlwinds surrounding it.

The Giant Axe in his hand burst with dazzling red light.

The Skeleton Great Mage and the Skeleton Archer also acted simultaneously.

Jiang Chen casually cast a layer of Aging Curse.

"Berserkous Havoc (Level 1): deals damage equal to 500% of own Power to the target, cooldown 10 minutes."

The power of a Skeleton Berserker's skill, judged purely by its Power attribute, is 550,000.

The attacks of the Skeleton Great Mage and Skeleton Archer are strong; the Whirlwind Tiger is a prime example.

All three acted at once.

After a round of focused fire, the "Wind God Mount", a level‑45 instance BOSS, was gravely wounded.

The external whirlwinds completely faded, and it collapsed on the ground, barely breathing.

0.33 seconds later, the Skeleton Berserker's second axe and the Skeleton Archer's second arrow fell simultaneously.

Not even a scream— the "Wind God Mount" died.

All within just one second.

"That counts as an instant kill, right?"

"Killed Wind God Mount, Experience +2,700,000"

"Obtained Whirlwind Sword"

"Obtained Whirlwind Leather Armor"

"Obtained Whirlwind Shard ×3"

"Whirlwind Sword: Platinum-grade Weapon, All Attributes +1000, Swordsman Skill Amplify 60%."

"Whirlwind Leather Armor: Platinum-grade Armor, All Attributes +700, Wind Element Damage Reduction 20%."

Not great gear, Jiang Chen tossed it into his storage Ring.

He'll sell it at the Exchange later; it probably won't fetch much.

"Four Whirlwind Shards per run, which is more than the \"Water God Courtyard\"."

"Unfortunately the experience is too low; one run only raised it by less than 2%..."

After reaching Level 40, the experience needed for leveling becomes even larger.

A run like this only yields about a 1.5% experience gain.

Jiang Chen decided to run a few more times, and after collecting several Whirlwind Crystals he would stop.

A bell rang in the Dungeon Hall.

Jiang Chen upgraded the instance and set a New Record.

3 hours 42 minutes 51 seconds.

It's not a great record, but anyone who frequents the Dungeon Hall knows Jiang Chen's first run doesn't count.

The second run is what matters.

Jiang Chen, after exiting the Instance, did not stay and entered again.

This time, as soon as he entered the Instance, the wind path leading to the Sky Plain was locked, and he rushed straight through.

He once again began to enjoy the thrill of Speed Run.

Now his Agility attribute reached 47,850, more than twenty times higher than at level 39.

Of course the speed couldn't be that much faster, but being three or four times faster is still possible.

He ran at a breakneck pace, even faster than a Skeleton Mage.

For a distance of over 20 kilometers, he finished it in just a little over two minutes.

He averaged eight to nine kilometers per minute.

All the Wind Fairies along the way were left for the Skeletons to deal with.

The monsters on the Whirlwind Plain were too scattered; fighting them wasted time and was inefficient.

He passed through the wind path and entered the Sky Plain.

Skeleton Berserkers surged out at high speed, pulling all the Whirlwind Sprites along the way together.

Skeleton Great Mages performed Mage Focus Fire attacks; Elemental Explosion had area‑of‑effect capability.

Although the range was only ten meters, each attack could also hit two or three Whirlwind Sprites at once.

Four thousand Skeleton Great Mages used five rounds of Mage Focus Fire and cleared the several hundred Whirlwind Sprites along the way spotless.

As for the remaining ones, Jiang Chen was already too lazy to kill them.

He leapt ahead onto the Floating Stone Platform and charged toward the Palace.

Speed Run must look like Speed Run.