Chapter 115: Hidden Mission, Map Update

Death Arena.

On the third day, Gu Chen's second-round battle arrived as scheduled.

As the energy spirit patterns on the room's floor lit up, Gu Chen was teleported to the giant sword arena on the second tier of the Ladder of Heaven.

This time, his opponent was a weapon-wielding alien warrior.

It had blue-and-white striped skin, two huge eyes that looked exactly like the ET alien from a sci-fi movie, a scrawny build, and held a pair of ring-shaped weapons with serrated edges in each hand.

Through analysis and scanning, Gu Chen obtained the opponent's information.

【Three Arrows】:

Hunting Rank: 24

Target Introduction: A member of the Yi Cong tribe, from the Rose Island in the Cang Star Sea, one of the few remaining warriors of the Yi Cong tribe.

After reading the analysis information, Gu Chen immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the guidance analysis, although the probability of encountering a strong enemy in the early stage was low, it was not impossible.

But this alien with a Hunting Rank of 24 was obviously not in the ranks of the strong; he felt he had a high probability of winning this battle.

As the voice of the Man Slave echoed overhead, the restriction bracelet automatically unlocked.

This time Gu Chen had learned to be smart; he decisively summoned the Power Axe and launched an attack on Three Arrows.

The special ability activated, and the golden axe blade was coated with a layer of pale blue energy; this was the special enhancement of the Shattered Blade.

"Kill!"

Roaring to boost his own morale, the Power Axe suddenly swung down at Three Arrows.

Ding!

The sound of metal clashing rang out; weapons collided, and under the support of inherited attributes, Gu Chen knocked Three Arrows back, sliding three meters.

Feeling Gu Chen's strength, Three Arrows' expression appeared extremely tense, obviously realizing he had encountered an opponent whose strength completely suppressed his own.

Seeing this scene, the family and friends group in the live broadcast room cheered enthusiastically.

A new round of engagement followed.

In terms of technique, Gu Chen still held no advantage, being completely one-sidedly beaten.

But in terms of physical strength, he held an absolute advantage; both the Power Axe and the Shattered Blade were level 25, and with the support of dual Painful Painful Minghun attributes, he could knock Three Arrows back in every collision, shaking his Hukou numb.

In a battle lasting less than three minutes, Gu Chen turned into a man of blood, his body covered in wounds cut by the rings.

Three Arrows' condition was no better.

Attempting to dodge, he discovered his speed was inferior to the opponent's; every time the axe swung down, he could only choose to block, then counterattack.

His Hukou cracked under the continuous collisions, his forearms trembled uncontrollably, and intense fear surged in his eyes.

His breathing rhythm became rapid under the influence of his emotions.

But what followed was a hysterical offensive; the serrated rings were waved by him so tightly that no air could pass, constantly carving deep, bone-exposing wounds on Gu Chen's chest and arms.

During this process, Gu Chen was smart enough to protect his neck, head, and other vital parts.

As long as the key parts did not suffer severe injury, he had the strength to continue fighting, exhausting the opponent to death on the arena.

The battle lasted until the ninth minute; Gu Chen seized the opportunity and decisively switched the inherited Shattered Blade Painful Painful Minghun to the level 1 Swift Painful Painful Minghun.

A sense of weakness from the reduced physical attributes struck; Gu Chen stepped forward several paces and suddenly raised the Power Axe to strike at Three Arrows' neck.

Already familiar with Gu Chen's attack rhythm, Three Arrows, who was just about to assume a blocking posture, was completely unable to defend against the suddenly accelerated offensive; his heart was instantly filled with fear, and he instinctively cried out:

"Ah!"

Crack!

Blood splattered everywhere; the head flew off and landed on the arena.

"Oh my god, I'm exhausted."

With his stamina depleted, Gu Chen propped himself up with the Power Axe, glanced at the headless Three Arrows, and then couldn't help but retch:

"Does it have to be this realistic... Fortunately, I still won."

The battle ended at this moment; the voice of the Man Slave echoed overhead, and space spirit patterns appeared on the ground.

After the sensation of weightlessness passed, Gu Chen returned to the room.

Looking up at the window, he discovered the scenery outside had changed again; the Giant Sword Arena had become the Flame Arena, with Xiong Xiong flames burning around the arena.

The room's area expanded again; besides the wooden bed, there was now a table, upon which were placed quite a few foods.

Dropping his bottom onto the ground and panting heavily, Gu Chen's gaze swept over the space spirit patterns on the floor.

While waiting, the cold voice of the Man Slave rang out:

"Arena 2 wins, two Low Martial Soul Beads bestowed by the Ancient God, remaining 69 hours 39 minutes of rest time (translation time is in hours)."

The space spirit patterns on the ground lit up, and two Low Martial Soul Beads emerged from them.

Seeing this scene, Gu Chen's live broadcast room instantly exploded.

Two Low Martial Spirit Beads equaled 4268 points of Shou Shou Jili revenue; in two duels, Gu Chen had already earned 6402 points of Shou Shou Jili.

This was far higher than the revenue from grinding in the Di Zhai Mountain Range.

Putting the Low Martial Spirit Beads into the spatial satchel, Gu Chen couldn't help but laugh heartily, and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.

"Beast, you beast! First, you took in a second-generation Meng Yuan Chu, then a hidden mission; why can't these benefits fall to me? My teeth are almost ground to dust, this life is unlivable; we are all players, why are all the benefits yours?"

"I beg you, in the third round, he must encounter a big shot! I'm still staying in the live broadcast room not to watch him earn Shou Shou Jili, but just to watch him get back here quickly and live in poverty with us; don't let him earn like this anymore. According to this reward increase, the third round victory might give three beads; that's 6402 points of Shou Shou Jili! I won't allow him to earn like this!"

"No way, you won the second round that easily? It feels even easier than the first round; is this how you please the Ancient God?"

"I beg the Ancient God, quickly arrange a strong enemy who can slap his head flying with one palm for him! If the opponent in the next round is still this weak, I... I'll still come to the live broadcast room to roast him."

"Dog Zhan, you are too much! You said you were going to take a vacation at the Colorful Mist Coast; look at what you've done behind our backs? This is literally using a sack to collect money! Quickly send another red packet in the guild channel; I'm about to die of anger from you."

After drinking five bottles of healing potion in succession, his injuries vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He then took out a bottle of stamina recovery potion, drank it in one gulp, and instantly his heartbeat slowed, the soreness and distension in his muscles gradually dissipating.

After his level increased, Gu Chen found that the number of healing potions needed to repair injuries was rising.

This was related to the growth of his health bar value; healing potions restored a fixed amount of health points.

Following this trend, in the future, basic healing potions would no longer satisfy the need for healing; he would need to purchase higher-priced intermediate healing potions, or even advanced healing potions, from the Shangcheng.

However, this round of victory had earned him a huge profit, so he naturally did not mind the loss of potions.

Glancing at the live broadcast room still flooding with complaints and wails, Gu Chen grinned, then switched to the guild chat channel and sent a red packet of 888 points of Shou Shou Jili:

"Stop cursing. Do you think I'd leave you out if there were benefits?"

Instantly, the cursing in the guild voice channel turned into blessings; the brothers were very sincere.

Standing up, Gu Chen stepped onto the spatial teleportation array and asked aloud:

"Hello? Can you hear me? Can I apply to start the third round of combat early?"

Finding the Manu silent, he lifted his leg and stomped on the teleportation array twice.

Three days of rest seemed far too long to him; being locked in a room was extremely boring. He could only kill time by browsing the forum and chatting via voice. Having fully recovered, he wanted to start the next round of combat early.

The combat intensity of the subsequent rounds would climb significantly; he felt that relying on his own strength, it would be very difficult to continue.

It was better to face it sooner; he needed no psychological preparation. Just do it.

After asking aloud several times in succession, he kept tapping the spatial spiritual patterns on the ground.

The Manu's voice finally rang out:

"You want to start the third round of the arena early?"

"Exactly."

"As you wish."

After the Manu's emotionless voice, the spiritual patterns on the ground lit up.

After a period of Intense Weightlessness, Gu Chen appeared on the Flame Arena.

Looking up, he saw his opponent had already arrived early.

Its height was close to two meters, its build burly, its muscles carved like rock. Its bare upper torso was covered in complex spiritual patterns and totems; on the left arm was a ferocious giant beast totem rearing its head and roaring, on the right arm a six-winged bird totem spreading its wings. Standing there, it possessed an aura of authority without needing to be angry.

It was currently eyeing him up and down with dark green eyes, then opened its mouth to reveal a row of pitch-black teeth, its gaze slightly mocking as it gently clenched its jaws.

"Guide, what does this mean? Translate it for me?" Gu Chen was instantly stunned.

【Any provocation you don't understand can be understood as them calling you an idiot.】

Gu Chen:...

"Makes sense. Watch me beat him to death."

As the words fell, the Li Man Axe materialized floating in mid-air, and the Analysis ability activated; the opponent's introduction information flooded into his mind.

【Sha Gu Gu】:

Hunting Level: 41

Target Introduction: A member of the great clan "Hai Sha Clan" of the Divine Wood Sea Region, possessing extremely rich land and sea combat experience.

Seeing that the opponent's Hunting Level had actually reached level 41, and that he possessed extremely rich combat experience.

The arrogance on Gu Chen's face instantly vanished.

This is a high-end match!

Although he had the buff of the dual Painful Painful Minghun attributes, he knew that in the first two victories, he had relied on attribute suppression.

Facing an opponent with higher attributes than himself and who completely suppressed him in combat techniques, he had no possibility of winning.

Just as Gu Chen had predicted, the moment this combat began, he was completely suppressed; in a single exchange, several ribs were kicked broken, and it ended in a crushing defeat, his soul returning to Di Zhong Village.

Seeing this scene, the large number of players watching in the live broadcast room all sent bullet comments to celebrate, expressing welcome home.

At this moment, Qi Sheng, located at the Meng Yuan Chu Altar, was also watching Gu Chen's performance in the arena.

After seeing Gu Chen get killed, a thought arose in his mind.

Why not help players enter the arena to milk the rewards distributed by the Ancient God Clan?

This method was completely feasible in his conception.

In fact, before this, he had considered launching settings related to the arena function.

The purpose was to create a virtual space similar to MOBA game settings, allowing players to hone their combat techniques and improve combat awareness through matchmaking and confrontation.

But after thinking deeply about this conception, he believed it was not feasible.

After all, the Monster World was not a real game; building a virtual space for ladder competitions would severely squeeze the time players spent hunting monsters, slowing down their growth and development speed.

The improvement of combat techniques and the improvement of strength; obviously, the improvement of strength was more important.

Even without technique, players could suppress enemies in terms of attributes through rapid growth.

No matter how strong the combat technique, it would be useless in the face of absolute power.

After comprehensive consideration, having clarified the pros and cons of building a virtual arena, he abandoned this setting.

But after the Ancient God Arena appeared, his thoughts changed.

In his view, this was simply an arena tailor-made for players.

Players could hone their techniques inside, and the Ancient God Clan would gift the Shou Shou Jili needed for growth; they could get double benefits for free without spending a dime.

It was simply a gift from nature.

In the future, batches of players would be sent to the arena; if they lost, there was no loss; if they won, they could milk the wool back.

More importantly, to achieve multiple victories, the importance of technique improvement would be amplified among the player community.

As for the situation of the Ancient God Arena, he had already roughly understood it through the Guide's analysis.

This is a special arena where an invading faction harvests Dou Soul Power through the slaughter of warriors.

Every fallen warrior is drawn by the power of the Arena Island into the Soul Refining Furnace beneath the island, eventually being forged into a Martial Soul Pearl—the very reward Gu Chen received upon achieving his first victory.

With each victory, the reward increases significantly.

If a player can secure more than five victories, each win grants a High-Grade Martial Soul Pearl bestowed by the Ancient God Clan, one of which is enough to elevate a player by one Body Refinement level.

Regarding this, he had the Guide calculate via big data: given the average strength of players at their current stage, they could manage at most one victory.

For the elite among players, three victories are roughly the limit; perhaps four could be reached depending on luck.

As for reaching five victories, the probability is extremely low.

Upon reaching the five-victory stage, every opponent encountered thereafter is a warrior with vast combat experience or exceptional personal ability.

When players confront them, they possess neither a technical advantage nor a statistical advantage.

But in Qi Sheng's view, this issue was unimportant.

After all, player strength grows rapidly; in the future, they will inevitably climb higher arenas, secure more victories, and generate greater Shou Shou Jili revenue.

Thinking this, Qi Sheng turned to look at the Guide floating beside him:

"Guide, since players' souls cannot be extracted by the Soul Refining Pool beneath the arena floor, will we be discovered?"

Facing the inquiry, the Guide shook its head:

【This is a "Death Soul Extraction Array" with area-wide coverage. During its operation, it does not monitor the death of individual arena warriors or whether their souls are extracted, so the probability of discovery is extremely low.】

"There is another question: when players engage in life-or-death duels in the arena, will they generate the Dou Soul Power needed by the Ancient God Clan?"

【Yes. Dou Soul Power is not drawn from the players themselves, but harvested from their combat actions and the manifestation of their willpower during battle.】

【To explain using an example from the Earth era you left behind: this can be understood as a form of virtual mining. Just as virtual currency is produced through computation, the physical and spiritual strength of both combatants can be categorized as graphics cards of varying quality; the higher the strength, the better the card's computing performance. The act of combat drives the computation, solving logical problems posed by the world's rules regarding "Dou Soul," and the resulting answer is the Dou Soul Power produced.】

【As for the importance of willpower, it can be understood as the energy driving the graphics cards. If the energy is insufficient, even if both sides possess high life strength, Dou Soul Power cannot be effectively generated. Therefore, the Ancient God Arena requires warriors to maintain Gao Ang fighting spirit and a resolve to die.】

【As for the rewards bestowed by the Ancient God Clan for combat victories, besides helping warriors repair bodily damage sustained in battle, they also serve as spiritual comfort, preventing warriors from being unable to bear the pressure and choosing death—which would undoubtedly be a loss for the Ancient God Clan.】

"So, when players fight in the arena, they can also bring benefits to the Ancient God Clan."

【Yes, but they cannot compare to other warriors. First, in terms of willpower, players lack the resolve to face death without fear; deep down, they always have an escape route back to the Soul Return to Emperor's Tomb Village, causing their fighting will to be far weaker... Of course, I do not refer to all players; certainly, some players possess extremely high fighting will.】

【Second, in terms of soul power collection, this was originally a circular system. Warriors strengthened by Martial Soul Pearls also experience increased soul strength; upon death, they re-enter the Soul Refining Pool to be forged into Martial Soul Pearls again. According to my analysis and calculation, the loss rate is 32.7%, but the loss rate for Martial Soul Pearls bestowed upon players is 100%. That is, for every expenditure given to players, the Ancient God Clan only gains Dou Soul Power but cannot recover the spent Martial Soul Pearls.】

【In summary, while players are milking the Ancient God Clan, they also bring revenue to the Ancient God Clan, but the revenue is not significant.】

In Qi Sheng's view, the Guide's analysis was actually a good thing.

If players only took from the arena without producing Dou Soul Power, the Ancient God Clan would naturally discover the anomaly over time.

By then, it would be difficult for players to enter the Ancient God Arena again; they would inevitably be blacklisted.

Only by bringing certain benefits to the Ancient God Clan can the truth remain hidden, allowing the milking to continue for a long time.

Having confirmed this method was feasible, Qi Sheng began to consider how to transport players to the arena in bulk.

Gu Chen went to the Death Arena, one of the three major arenas of the Ancient Gods, located on an island in the central region of the Ghost Shadow Sea, north of the Cang Star Sea.

Separated by a slowly expanding Black Tide Domain, the straight-line distance to the Colorful Mist Coast reached 9495 kilometers.

Without flying vehicles, players would need to expend tremendous effort to travel this distance, and they would encounter various dangers along the way.

Therefore, the plan of marking map coordinates for players to travel there on their own was definitely unfeasible.

The idea of constructing a spatial teleportation array surfaced in his mind, after which he shook his head.

In his view, this idea was also unfeasible.

The Shou Shou Jili consumed to build a stable spatial teleportation array was not the main issue; the critical point was that a stable spatial teleportation array could be destroyed, unless a portion of space was partitioned off like the Colorful Mist Coast.

But now, the space between the Colorful Mist Coast and Emperor's Tomb Village was already somewhat congested, leaving no excess space to partition.

Nor was there sufficient Shou Shou Jili to partition and create new spatial nodes.

So, how exactly could players be helped to reach the Ancient God Arena?

At this moment, he looked at the Guide floating beside him:

"Guide, do you have any good ideas?"

Facing the inquiry, the Guide fell into deep thought; after a brief silence, an exclamation mark appeared in the upper right corner of the water sphere:

【Boss, how about this? I can mark the flying vehicles that capture warriors across the various seas on the map players use. Players can open the map to see the exact locations of these vehicles. Nearby players can actively approach the vehicles and be transported to the arena by being captured.】

Hearing the Guide's suggestion, Qi Sheng smiled:

"Feasible, very feasible. In this way, the arena flying vehicles in the players' eyes become mobile markers triggering a hidden quest. As long as they make contact, they will be sent to the arena to engage in slaughter and obtain rewards."

"Do as you say. From now on, whenever a flying vehicle enters the Cang Star Sea, display a mobile marker on the map."

【No problem, Boss.】

After discussing a feasible plan, Qi Sheng released the latest game notification:

【Challenger Notification (All Channels): Player "Battle Unceasing" triggered the hidden plot Ancient God Arena, unlocking a special reward: All players obtain the coordinates of the arena flying vehicles.】

Function Description: Players can open the map to view the specific coordinates of flying vehicles entering the Cang Star Sea region (real-time updates on movement).

Hint: After approaching an arena flying vehicle, players have a chance to be sent to the Death Arena to participate in life-or-death duels. Each victory will yield generous rewards (rewards will continuously increase with the number of wins).

Hearing the game notification, players immediately opened the map function.

Players in the Colorful Mist Coast region could clearly see three arena flying vehicles speeding through the Cang Star Sea.

"Damn, this flying vehicle moves way too fast. According to the map scale, it's impossible to catch up. How hard is it for me to please the Ancient Gods (eating dirt and flipping the table. jpg)."

"As expected of a hidden quest, the probability of encountering it is too low. The hidden plot God of Wealth in Emperor's Tomb Mountain was easier to encounter. Pity the God of Wealth has already distributed rewards and returned to the Retrograde Tide Legion. I wonder when he will return next. I hope I get selected to go to the training camp. Those bastards in the Brick-Moving Group are raising their Body Refinement levels like crazy; it's too awesome."

"It's called a hidden quest, so how could it be easily encountered? But don't think the flying vehicle is just fast; you can judge the general direction based on its flight trajectory, then buy a smoke bomb in Shangcheng to try attracting the vehicle. If you can get captured, that would be awesome. The reward for winning three matches is higher than a whole Body Refinement level."

"Human friends, offering 21 points of Shou Shou Jili at a 190 ratio. Private chat to establish long-term cooperation."

"I really want to go. It's like picking up money. The difficulty of one victory doesn't seem high to me. Unless luck is particularly bad, with my average Painful Painful Minghun at level 29 and Body Refinement at level 3, I should be able to secure at least three victories. This opportunity for sudden wealth is right in front of me. Pity I don't know how to get there... No, I must try to intercept the flying vehicle. I want to please the Ancient Gods!"

In the eyes of the various races of the sea realm, the terrifying arena where capture meant death had become a hidden quest in the players' eyes.

As long as the plot was triggered, they could be sent to the arena to participate in the lucrative arena trials.

The chat of the Human Race players in the regional channel made the players of the Cheekfish Clan and the Abyssfish Clan infinitely envious.

They had all watched the arena livestream that had recently rocked the forums.

Knowing there was such a good place to earn profits, their eyes turned red.

Their current levels were low, and the speed at which they earned profits was far inferior to that of the Human Race players who had entered the game earlier.

The profit of over 2,100 points of Shou Shou Jili given for a single victory was, in their eyes, comparable to sudden wealth.

But they also clearly understood that with their current Painful Painful Minghun levels, even if they stumbled upon a hidden quest, going to the arena would only mean delivering a victory to others with their lives.

Most importantly, the slaves of the arena might not even look favorably upon them, unwilling to capture them and send them to the arena.

This arena incident gave the players of the Cheekfish Clan and the Abyssfish Clan a strong motivation for growth.

Many players who had originally been exchanging Shou Shou Jili for cash also began to prioritize the improvement of their own strength.

Only with powerful personal strength could one earn more Shou Shou Jili returns in the future.

(End of this chapter)