Chapter 61: Camp Tremors
The fifth wave of the assault brought forth the Fourth-Stage Demon, ‘Rampage Tusk Beast’.
Compared to the Thunderstorm Lion, while the Rampage Tusk Beast’s claw strikes didn’t carry thunder damage, it possessed a far more terrifying beastly charge—able to gather force in place and suddenly dash forward.
Let alone taking a direct hit—even a graze could tear half a body apart.
Not just Qian Gongyu and the others, even Yan Qing himself had to proceed with utmost caution when fighting it.
He dared not get too close, only daring to repair the Rampage Tusk Beast’s feet from the edge.
After a soul-shaking, earth-shattering struggle, the Rampage Tusk Beast finally collapsed outside the city wall.
It took three and a half minutes.
“So this... is the power of Foundation?” Jie Yuanshao muttered.
Standing at the forefront of everyone were the ‘Blade War General’ and the ‘Tear-Crowned Mermaid’, the upgraded forms of the Blade Warrior and Narcissus Mermaid, respectively—known as Advanced Statues.
Upgrading to Advanced Statues required a huge amount of rare resources.
Even with the accumulation over several rounds, Yan Qing and the team had only enough to upgrade these two statues.
They had guessed beforehand that Advanced Statues would have Fourth-Stage strength.
But they didn’t expect the gap between Fourth-Stages to be this vast—Rampage Tusk Beast, capable of smashing Third-Stage Messengers like toys, looked like a giant dog being toyed with in front of the Blade War General and Tear-Crowned Mermaid.
The Blade War General didn’t gain any new special abilities.
It just became incredibly, incredibly fast.
It could slash off the tusks of the Rampage Tusk Beast the moment it got close, then slide away from the charge in one smooth motion.
Even Yan Qing couldn’t manage such exquisite and flawless dodging.
‘Jiang Ten’s’ dodge range was too short—dodging still meant getting hit.
Until the Rampage Tusk Beast fell, the Blade War General hadn’t lost a single drop of blood.
This wasn’t solely the Blade War General’s achievement.
In fact, the Rampage Tusk Beast seemed to have a Token that could unleash a ferocious area-wide claw strike.
But whenever that happened, the Tear-Crowned Mermaid would tap her spear lightly.
A massive water mirror would form before the Rampage Tusk Beast, rebounding its desperate attack back onto itself.
The Tear-Crowned Mermaid’s attacks weren’t nearly as strong as the Blade War General’s—not even as strong as other Comrade Alliance statues.
But without her, this battle wouldn’t have been so easy.
Her utility was unique.
This was the true strength of a Fourth-Stage creature—a Foundation entity.
In this whole battle, everyone was basically just watching them perform.
Let alone Yan Qing’s team—even the regular statues paled in comparison.
Compared to them, Thunderstorm Lion and Rampage Tusk Beast were nothing more than elite grunts at the Fourth-Stage level.
Once the statues returned to their original forms, Qian Gongyu eagerly ran up and touched the Tear-Crowned Mermaid’s spear, full of envy.
“So this is a Fourth-Stage Token? Is there any way to borrow it for a bit?”
“Please, Jiang Ten, if it’s possible, I beg you—don’t tell me,” Shang Xinlei clasped her hands together.
“I’m just an ordinary rich person with influence—I really can’t handle such a huge opportunity.”
“C-Can we?” Jie Yuanshao suddenly turned her head.
This noble lady’s throat moved nervously, her expression both fearful and hopeful—like a wild cat staring hungrily at cat food being offered by a stranger.
She asked longingly, “We can really get a Fourth-Stage Token?”
Yan Qing didn’t bother responding.
He glanced at the countdown and was suddenly stunned.
“The next wave of monsters will attack in 64 minutes and 15 seconds.”
He checked several times to make sure he wasn’t mistaken, then shared the bad news with his teammates.
Qian Gongyu hadn’t caught on yet.
She stretched lazily and said, “So tired... time to search for another half an hour.”
“No!” Shang Xinlei exclaimed.
“We triggered the fifth wave early—weren’t we supposed to stack the search time for two rounds? Why is there only enough time for a cup of tea?”
“That means after the fifth wave, we only get a tea’s worth of time,” Jie Yuanshao calmly analyzed.
“But yesterday after the fifth wave, we clearly had half an hour.”
At this moment, Yan Qing clicked the 【?】 button beside the countdown.
Three days had passed, and it was only now, on the third day, that he remembered to check the actual rules of this instance instead of blindly playing by instinct.
“The first four trials are for beginners. Upon completion, the rest periods are: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 60 minutes respectively.”
“After the fifth trial, each success only grants a base rest time of 5 minutes.”
“First-time completion of the fifth, tenth, and twentieth trials gives a bonus 60-minute rest time.”
“Starting the next monster wave early stacks rest time.”
Only the first four trials had bonus rest time—after that, it was basically just five minutes?
But on second thought, Yan Qing realized this was perfectly reasonable.
How could players have that much time to stay in an instance?
The first four trials alone added up to two and a half hours.
Even if most of that time was spent gathering resources, it was already absurdly long.
Aside from university students and the unemployed, who else could play for two and a half uninterrupted hours?
Moreover, this instance had a 99-trial cap.
If each trial ended with an hour-long search, wouldn’t players need to spend over a hundred hours?
If word got out, not just the players—even the government might suspect The Messenger’s dev team of using VR games to cause mass sudden deaths.
The correct way to play this instance was to spend each day collecting resources in the first four trials, then speedrun the later ones.
Even when hitting a wall, they’d have to adapt on the fly.
Yan Qing had been stuck circling within the first five trials until today, when he finally realized the truth.
Once a child leaves their ivory tower, they will find that the world offers little time for preparation.
“So the next half hour determines how far we can go,” Jie Yuanshao exhaled deeply.
“Then let me, on behalf of the Jie Family, measure the breadth of Mansu Woodland as much as possible.”
“Many people are watching outside, Miss Jie—you better not drag us down,” Shang Xinlei said with a laugh.
“That’s right!” Qian Gongyu suddenly got excited, energy surging through her body, clenching her fists and itching to act.
“When news of Mansu Woodland spreads, my Qian Family can rise to fame alongside your Jie and Shang Families in Liang Kingdom!”
“With such renown, we won’t have to worry about being eliminated from the noble ranks by the Court, right?”
“Knowing me and Miss Jie, you still worry about your family?” Shang Xinlei chuckled.
“Call us elder sisters, and little sister, your life will be carefree.”
“Sister Yuanshao, Sister Xinlei!”
“You actually said her name before mine—are you looking down on me?”
“Hmph, you dare offend me? You’re doomed!”
“Eh?”
“Stop messing around, Jiang Ten’s already gone,” Jie Yuanshao spoke up.
“She seems to care a lot about whether she can reach the tenth trial... Don’t dawdle.”
Qian Gongyu was slightly stunned and turned her head to glance in the direction Jiang Ten had left, seemingly deep in thought.
...
...
At the entrance clearing of Mansu Woodland, chairs and a tea table had been brought over.
Zhou Ye slowly rinsed and brewed tea, pouring it for others with practiced elegance—clearly a veteran tea connoisseur.
In the North, they love liquor; in the South, they love tea.
No one minded.
They just sat there sipping tea.
Qun Yushu immediately raised an eyebrow.
“Mellow at first, endlessly fragrant aftertaste, spirit energy slowly recovering—is this the legendary Biluoya?”
“It is indeed.”
“It can only be cultivated within the Secret Realm of the Hundred Herbs Garden, and takes three months to harvest once,” Zhou Ye replied with a smile.
“I only have this bit left.”
“Seems like the Zhou Family has made notable progress in Secret Realm cultivation,” said Chen Linchuan.
“Have you managed to grow any spirit-infused herbs?”
“It’s possible, but the quality is far inferior to what the Secret Realm of the Hundred Herbs Garden produces,” Zhou Ye replied with a bitter smile.
“If you really do the math, even cultivating for a whole year can’t compare to just raiding the Hundred Herbs Garden once.”
Even so, everyone could affirm that the Zhou Family had operated the Hundred Herbs Garden impressively.
The fact that their pharmacies had opened across Zhou and Qi Kingdoms was proof enough.
Even if the Zhou Family couldn’t match a single raid with a year’s worth of cultivation, planting carried no risk.
But raiding the Hundred Herbs Garden—sending in even their elite might still result in casualties.
Among all Third-Stage Secret Realms, the Hundred Herbs Garden didn’t yield the most resources, but it was the one people most desired to possess.
This was because it had vast herbal fields inside.
Between raids, the Zhou Family could harvest a large yield—unlike other Secret Realms that remained idle.
“That fifth wave just now,” Chen Linchuan glanced toward Mansu Woodland, “ended so quickly.”
“Did you guys catch what the Fourth-Stage Demon was in the fifth wave?” Qun Yushu slapped his leg, laughing at himself.
“I was just listening at the entrance and my legs nearly gave out.”
“More than that, I’m curious how they managed to defeat a Fourth-Stage Demon so quickly,” Zhou Ye said as he continued steeping tea.
“If they used external power, would that power count toward their treasure chest rewards?”
Everyone looked toward the personal score leaderboard not far away.
There were dozens of names on the board.
But the combined scores of everyone below couldn’t match the fourth place—Qian Gongyu.
And even adding Qian Gongyu, Jie Yuanshao, and Shang Xinlei together didn’t surpass the top score—Jiang Ten.
Mansu Woodland had never seen such high scores.
No one knew what kind of treasures their chests might contain.
Even if Jiang Ten’s treasure couldn’t yield a direct Fourth-Stage item—what about Third-Stage?
For example, technique manuals, Third-Stage Tokens, foundation-enhancing pills, or maybe even...
“Even Fourth-Stage Demons are showing up,” Chen Linchuan said slowly.
“Wouldn’t be surprising if they awarded a Foundation Pill.”
Everyone gasped at these words—even Jie Zilong couldn’t help but feel a surge of desire.
A Foundation Pill!
Even though all present were important figures from their respective families, battle-hardened prodigies of their generation—none dared to claim with certainty they’d ever obtain a single Foundation Pill in their lifetime!
“Jie Zilong, Shang Yue,” Zhou Ye raised his teacup and smiled.
“Congratulations to your two families for taking the lead.”
Though it sounded like a polite congratulation, the atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Zhou Ye’s message was clear.
Your families have already gained enormous benefits—so whatever happens next, you shouldn’t interfere.
Jie Zilong looked to the young man beside him.
The youth had refined features, wore luxurious clothes, but his frame was frail and complexion pale—always exuding an air of chronic illness that couldn’t be shaken.
“I traveled two days to reach the woodland,” the youth spoke slowly.
“I still need time to understand the situation.”
“Humble and cautious—worthy of the Shang Family’s scholarly lineage,” Zhou Ye said with a smile.
“But it is true that decisions shouldn’t be made too soon.”
“Lu Xiaoqi also needs time to investigate the case.”
“Sigh, such a well-arranged Mansu Woodland gathering—why did it have to turn into a murder case?”
“The sixth wave has begun,” Qun Yushu suddenly said.
Everyone fell silent and listened carefully.
Chen Linchuan’s expression grew grim.
“Likely... one Fourth-Stage Demon, one Third-Stage Demon, plus many lesser demon underlings.”
“But for them, it shouldn’t be difficult to handle.”
And as Chen Linchuan predicted—by the time Zhou Ye’s tea had cooled, the battle inside was already over.
They thought they would have to wait another half an hour, but the seventh wave of the demon surge started soon after.
“One Fourth-Stage Demon, plus five Third-Stage Demons?” Qun Yushu exclaimed. “This difficulty is ramping up way too fast!”
This time, the battle inside took a bit longer—nearly fifteen minutes passed before the fighting quieted down.
They thought surely there would be a break this time.
But soon enough, they heard the eighth wave of the demon surge descend.
“Two Fourth-Stage Demons...” Jie Zilong looked worried.
“This is already approaching the difficulty level of a Fourth-Stage Secret Realm’s entrance...”
“Their scores are increasing rapidly too,” Qun Yushu glanced at the leaderboard.
“Once this wave is over, Jiang Ten’s score will break 9000.”
“Two Fourth-Stage Demons won’t be able to stop them.”
Whether the two Fourth-Stage Demons could stop those inside was unknown.
But the impact on the camp was very real.
All unrelated personnel had already retreated over a hundred meters from the entrance.
Even Messengers felt their hearts tremble.
The pressure from just one Fourth-Stage Demon was enough to make a mortal’s legs shake.
With two demons together, timid people might even wet themselves or collapse on the spot.
When the eighth wave ended, Zhou Ye and the others exchanged glances and noticed a layer of sweat on everyone’s bodies.
They all turned to Jie Zilong and Shang Yue, and sincerely said, “Congratulations, truly—your two families are producing remarkable talents in this generation!”
Even they, standing outside, were nervous and shaken.
Yet Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao were inside Mansu Woodland, facing down two Fourth-Stage Demons.
Regardless of their strength, their mental fortitude had to be extraordinary.
Perhaps ordinary people valued talent most.
But for great noble families, having a mindset that didn’t crumble under crisis was the foundation of true strength.
After all, talent could be trained or even fed directly—but poor temperament couldn’t be cultivated at all.
Jie Zilong couldn’t help but smile and said, “Yuanshao, that child, might surpass me very soon.”
“If even the eighth trial is this difficult,” Qun Yushu sighed, “I wonder how many stages Mansu Woodland has.”
“Rumor says there are ninety-nine stages.”
“Ninety-nine?” Everyone fell silent.
Zhou Ye shook his head in disbelief and chuckled.
“That sounds like a path only the legendary immortals could walk.”
“I wonder how far they’ll go... Wait, it’s starting again?” Qun Yushu listened carefully.
“One, two... The ninth trial has a full four Foundation-level demons!”
“Even if they manage to survive, this might be their limit,” Chen Linchuan tapped the tea table lightly.
“Shang Yue, have you made up your mind yet?”
The pale, sickly youth coughed, as if unaware that everyone was waiting for his response.
He slowly sipped his Biluoya tea and said leisurely, “Before I see Xinlei, I won’t make any rash decisions.”
Chen Linchuan’s eyes flickered.
Zhou Ye was still making tea, but under the overwhelming pressure of four Foundation Demons, his hands trembled uncontrollably.
The tea stream wavered and splashed.
At some point, Lu Wangji was already standing outside, waiting.
Everyone looked toward the entrance of Mansu Woodland, waiting for the deadly slaughter inside to come to an end.
Fifteen minutes later, the sounds of battle slowly quieted down.
Jie Zilong slowly exhaled and stood up, and the others followed suit.
Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, Qun Yushu stared at the empty entrance, and his expression gradually turned to disbelief.
“No way...”
Jie Zilong’s lips quivered as he stared at the entrance without blinking.
Shang Yue coughed three times and let out a soft sigh.
Time seemed to pass slowly.
Everyone felt like they could hear their own heartbeats ticking.
Yet at the same time, time also seemed to fly—before long, the tenth wave of the demon surge arrived.
This time, even Third-Stage Messengers didn’t dare linger near the entrance.
The grass around the gate had been flattened by howling winds.
Heaven and earth dimmed, as if calamity were about to descend.
“Fourth-Stage Demon Lord!”
Zhou Ye shielded his precious teapot, his voice trembling with both fear and excitement.
“Even a Fourth-Stage Messenger can’t face such a Foundation Demon Lord alone!”
“And aside from the Fourth-Stage Demon Lord, there are three other Foundation Demons,” Qun Yushu actually laughed out loud.
“This might be the closest I ever get to a Fourth-Stage Demon Lord in my life.”
If earlier they were harboring secret thoughts and petty malice—
Now they still had ulterior motives.
But deep down, they couldn’t help being curious.
It wasn’t about gain, nor jealousy, nor victory.
They just genuinely wanted to know—
How far could these four young people go?