Chapter 1369: Ray of Sunshine

"Looks like the Heaven Suppressing Necklace really has passed us by…"

I shrugged. "100% lifesteal is incredibly busted, sure, but that price is even more busted. 200 million gold, man. Only a prodigal son like Lu Chao would be able to afford this."

He Yi clenched her fists and said seriously, "To be honest, I would’ve bid 300 million for you if you hadn’t stopped me earlier. With your stats, you would never have to worry about dying anymore."

I smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, but it’s just too expensive. Don’t worry, we’ll find something similar in the future. We’re strong, aren’t we?"

"Mn…"

……

In the end, Roaming Dragon was able to win the Heaven Suppressing Necklace the entire world desired with a massive bid of 200 million gold. While admiring the Ghost Armament in his hands, he left the auction house with Coldmoon Rose, Wang Dongliang, Profound Puff and the usual players of Purgatory Mad Dragon. Lin Yixin, He Yi and I [1] were stepping out of the auction house as well when Lin Yixin asked me, "What will you be doing tonight, Little Cheat?"

I thought for a moment before answering, "Nothing important. I’m going to grind some instances."

"Take me with you!"

"Sure!"

After we teleported back to Sky City, Beiming Xue bade us goodbye and left to conduct her business of the day. [2] It was at this moment a group of excited people surged toward the eastern square. A red-haired uncle carrying a battle axe said with a laugh, "Faster, faster! A new duel is happening outside the eastern gate, and I heard that one of the players is a solo player who has managed to make it into the Top 100 of the champion arena! I’m going to bet on the dark horse this time!"

I frowned. "What’s this?"

Lin Yixin explained smilingly, "It’s become popular to have 1v1s just outside the gate of a main city as of late. Some people also organize some bets before the duels begin. Everyone’s pretty high-level these days, so they can afford to entertain themselves like this. Even Purple Marquis came here a couple of days ago to have some fun, although he wasn’t able to earn much money because he was too famous. Very few people were willing to accept his challenge."

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Say, Lu Chen. You still have the Master of Disguise Ring?"

I sneezed as if a devil had set their sights on me. "What are you planning?"

Lin Yixin giggled. "Why don’t you design a new character, disguise yourself with it and specifically target those famous experts at the eastern gate? I’ll bet on you, and we’ll share the money later. What do you think?"

I was dumbfounded. "This is a bit too much, isn’t it?"

"Who cares? Anyway, let’s head over there first. You can make your decision later."

"Yeah."

……

While He Yi and I were following Lin Yixin to the east gate, I replaced the Apparition Ring with the Master of Disguise Ring. It was better to have the Master of Disguise Ring + Song of Freedom than Master of Disguise Ring + Apparition Ring anyway[3].

I then designed a new character with super short hair, faded gray metal armor and faded red cloak. I also dulled the Chill of the Nine Provinces’ image until it matched my new appearance. The only thing I couldn’t change were my eyes because that was just the way the game was designed. Finally, I gave my new disguise the ID: Dark Iron Sword.

Yes, it was a traditional but good-sounding name...

Finally, I looked at the girls and said, "So, I’m going to change into my disguise now. Obviously, pretend you don’t know me and chat through the party channel only. When I fight, I’ll try my best to keep my stats and skills under wraps and defeat my opponent via basic attacks only. I’ll treat you all to a meal with the prize money later…"

Lin Yixin and He Yi both nodded happily. "Okay! Let’s do it!"

We arrived outside the eastern gate. Between the floating rocks and the gate, there was a huge clearing with several hundred meters wide of vines growing all over it. The rhododendrons were blooming, and birds were chirping and flying freely amid the shrubberies and giant trees. A lot of players were already gathered on top of this dark green clearing—seriously, I counted roughly ten thousand players—to watch the duelists battle each other at the center.

I forced my way through the crowd with my humongous Strength. Behind me, Lin Yixin and He Yi entered the clearing side-by-side.

The smell of soil and grass wafted from the environment as I watched two players over Level 220 battling each other to the death. One of them belonged to Blazing Hot Lips, and the other, Pop Culture. It only took less than 10 seconds for the player from Pop Culture to achieve total victory over their opponent.

A 40-year-old uncle raised his spear and declared, "As the referee, I declare that Ẅho Will Fight Me [4] has won the match! The system should’ve resolved all the bets of this duel, but please check your pockets and ensure that you’ve gotten your winnings. Now, is there anyone else who’s willing to challenge our expert here? Brother Ẅho Will Fight Me has already won 7 matches in a row, and he hasn’t lost a single match yet. Who will be the one to reap the 7907 gold prize money he has accrued?"

Lin Yixin blinked and shot me a smile. She asked me in the party channel, "That’s 8000 RMB, Little Cheat? You wanna go?"

I shook my head. "No way. 8000 is not nearly enough to make me fight."

"Hehe. It does make sense to stand by for now. This guy won’t be lacking any challenger since he’s an average player at best. He’s not even as good as Zi Chuanyu…"

"Yeah!"

……

A few seconds later, someone stepped up to challenge Ẅho Will Fight Me as expected. A Level 225 fighter riding a mount that looked like a fearsome lion entered the battle ring. He wore a pair of dark silver boots and metal armor with shivering draconic images at the center and savage-looking spikes around the shoulders. He wielded a flaming warblade. After he dismounted, he looked back and forth between the referee and Ẅho Will Fight Me before saying, "I wish to challenge the current champion. Do you have any demands to make?"

The referee looked at him before frowning suddenly. "You… I see you’re a Top 100 player of the champion arena. Do you know the rules? Even if you win, you’ll only obtain half of the prize money because of your ranking. Moreover, anyone who beats you will claim that money and everything else you’ve accrued."

The youngster chuckled. "That’s not a problem. I accept."

"Hmph!

A hint of disdain flashed across Ẅho Will Fight Me’s features. "You’re ranked 97th on the champion arena, huh? So what? I’m ranked 117th myself. You think I can’t beat someone just 20 places ahead of me?"

The youngster simply smiled and waved his sword, revealing his ID for all to see—

Ray of Sunshine LV-225

Class: Master Swordsman of Blaze

Guild: None

Position: None

……

He really was a solo player. Judging from faint arrogance shimmering in Ray of Sunshine’s eyes, the man thought nothing of his opponent. Perhaps Ẅho Will Fight Me really was as average as Lin Yixin said. The reason I couldn’t quite take her at her word was because she was almost at the level of a peak Heavenly King. To her, the likes of Laughing At The Heavens or Wei-Jin North-South Dynasties counted as "average" as well.

"Come!"

A flicker of flames rose from Ray of Sunshine’s sword as he lowered it to the ground. His class, Master Swordsman of Blaze, was the next evolution of the hidden class "Blaze Swordsman", so obviously he held an advantage in terms of character skills. Judging from the looks of his equipment, he was also the equal or better of Ẅho Will Fight Me. However, Ẅho Will Fight Me was the champion with 7 consecutive wins under his belt, so he was still favored to win.

"Time to bet…" Lin Yixin stuck out her tongue and shot me another smile. "I’m betting ten thousand gold on Ray of Sunshine!"

I smiled back. "The odds are 1:5, do whatever you want. I guess I’m betting ten thousand gold as well!"

After that, all three of us turned in ten thousand gold into the betting system, changing the odds to 1:3.5 immediately. If Ray of Sunshine won, we would win 35k gold. If he lost, then we would get nothing at all.

……

Outside the ring, a bunch of berserkers carrying battle axes, hammers, and spears roared, "Do your best, Ẅho Will Fight Me! I’ve literally bet all my living expenses on you! You have to win!"

Ẅho Will Fight Me grinned at the crowd before shooting Ray of Sunshine a disdainful glance. "So, how would you like to die, brother?"

Ray of Sunshine replied casually, "Not planning to. I recently bought a rather expensive Level 210 ring from the auction house, so I’m thinking to recoup some of that cash from you. You don’t mind, do you?"

"The arrogance!" Ẅho Will Fight Me immediately shot Ray of Sunshine a sparring invitation, but Ray of Sunshine immediately shot back.

"Sparring mode? That’s so boring. Shoot me an actual 1v1 challenge. It’s no fun unless the loser drops a level and a piece of their equipment, right?"

"As you wish!"

Ẅho Will Fight Me was literally popping veins on his face as he shot Ray of Sunshine another sparring invitation with crueler rules. Long story short, it had the exact same penalties as an open-world brawl, except that the killer wouldn’t get a red name.

……

"Pa!

A bloody banner landed between the two players. It signaled the start of the match!

I rubbed my palms together. "I can already feel my pockets becoming 35000 gold heavier…"

Beside me, Lin Yixin smiled sweetly. "Yeah, yeah! I think I’m going to win as well!"

He Yi simply smiled without a word. Neither girl tried to be inconspicuous because it was impossible considering who they were. At least half of the spectators in the area were shooting admiring looks at them and death glares at me. Why? Because I was "lucky" to be able to stand right next to the girls, because I was "just" a Level 211 cavalryman, and because my ID practically stamped the label "country bumpkin" to my face.

Meanwhile, Ẅho Will Fight Me let out a battle cry, channeled Ice Ray to his blade, and ran toward his opponent in a straight line. He unleashed the skill before he got close, and a gigantic icicle shot straight toward his opponent. A Rank 10 Ice Ray certainly wasn’t a skill one could afford to underestimate.

However, Ray of Sunshine simply smiled and surrounded himself in a wall of fire. It was Crimson Fire Shield, a protective skill that increased his Defense by 50%.

Buzz!

As the Ice Ray crashed against the Crimson Fire Shield, Ẅho Will Fight Me let out a roar, rotated to one side and executed a Barrier Break + Triple Slash combo. It looked like the guy deserved his 117th rank after all. Not even Laughing At The Heaven might be able to execute the combo as smoothly as he did.

"Heh…"

However, Ray of Sunshine chuckled fearlessly before charging in. Like his ID, he shone like the actual sun as he slammed his shoulder against his opponent’s chest and caused the entire combo to miss completely. At the same time, he retaliated with his own Barrier Break and a triple-hit skill with a dragon’s head visual effect! It easily tore Ẅho Will Fight Me’s body into pieces!

419828!

371872!

448272!

The skill was called Dragon Flame Flurry. What incredible power!

1. T/N: Beiming Xue literally evaporated into thin air I see ☜

2. T/N: this is NOT in the raws. The author fucked up stating that the duels happened in Sky City in the next chapter when the auction had taken place at Wind City, so I’m adding this here to correct the inconsistency ☜

3. E/N: Song of Freedom is a necklace, right? That would mean there’s a limit of just two accessories I didn’t know about -.- ☜

4. T/N: not a mistake. In the raws one of the characters used traditional Chinese instead of simplified, so I reflect this by tweaking the W to Ẅ ☜

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