Volume 1, Chapter 23: Forced to Rummage Through the Trash

With a mission at hand, I could not allow them to drink. The meal was sumptuous, yet we drank only water.

That Poison Doctor certainly knew something about this religious group, though this side quest was merely an incidental entanglement, existing largely outside the main game.

No matter how scheming she was in life, it had all come to nothing in the end. I had no desire to continue debating the gains and losses of the deceased, yet I also understood that even if I chose to ignore it entirely, the angered Aaron could not be overlooked.

After Qingzhu and the others finished cleaning up, they left the room, leaving behind a sullen Mu Xuefu and a helpless-looking Jing Rong.

The wild boars possessed decent strength and defense, but their movements were stiff, their speed was mediocre, and they posed no threat to long-range attackers. They were the perfect targets for Shi Qianwei and Meng Ling to grind for experience.

Such a boss battle was simply absurd. If there wasn’t some hidden secret behind it, why make it so treacherous? Even a top-tier "god-tier" team wouldn't be able to clear it. If someone like me was suffering a fresh wound with every strike and watching my health plummet, what were the others supposed to do?

The Taoist essence shield Zhou Liang held before him was continuously struck by metal fragments, throwing off strings of sparks.

Meanwhile, within the meridians cleared inside Xia Zixuan’s body, nascent true energy began to generate, gradually repairing the damaged pathways. Each strand of energy underwent a transformation, becoming denser and more concentrated, while the essence at his energy center grew heavy and profound.

A dull, explosive sound rang out as the Black Panther Deacon was sent flying by a bear paw that had suddenly appeared behind him—a strike from Lieshan. The Deacon’s back, struck by the paw, was instantly covered in a thick layer of profound yin ice.

In such a desperate endgame, they were enjoying what were effectively the best resource conditions available. It is not that I am twisting the facts; rather, the army before me truly possessed an uncanny, oppressive force.

"But with things having reached this point, what are we to do? Must we fight on two fronts?" Lu Shao finally asked the core question.

This time, their swords collided only once—or more accurately, they only had time to collide once, as Ye Yanqing was sent flying by the sheer force of Zhou Lu’s blow.

Putting down his phone, Ning Hao racked his brains trying to figure out how to persuade that chubby girl, Tang Yan, to let him have the equipment on credit.

The platoon leader had wounded a Japanese soldier, but he was now entangled with two others. The soldier who had been lunging at the wounded suddenly turned, stabbing the platoon leader in the lower back from behind. The platoon leader collapsed.

That day, just as Xia Fan reached the bottom of the teaching building, he saw a boy blocking Tang Caier. Assuming they knew each other, he prepared to head straight upstairs.

Qingyang Town was not too far from the Purple Sword Sect, provided one had a mount or the ability to fly. For two people with only their own strength to rely on, like Ye Yanqing and his companion, the journey would take about ten days.

The man’s face was covered in countless stitched scars, making it look hideously twisted, as if a dozen different faces had been crudely pieced together.

The refusal of a formal title was enough to show Liu Chong’s trust in Gao Shun. Gao Shun’s eyes indeed began to stream with tears; this was likely the only time in his life he would ever weep.

A massive rift appeared in the firmament—a black hole created by the collapsing space, gaping like the maw of a giant beast, as if it could swallow everything in the heavens and the earth.

The mysterious man remained silent. He stood in the void, so quiet, yet he felt like an immortal mountain, a spine supporting the heavens and the earth. His aura was domineering, fierce, and majestic, as if all the myriad worlds were under his control.

Liao Xi immediately added the sugar to the water. The previously clear liquid turned murky in an instant. Liao Xi frowned, stirred the sugar water until it was uniform, and poured it through layers of filtration. After the dilution and filtering, he poured it out and found, to his relief, that the visible impurities were indeed gone.

"A Mystic Master!" the two bandits exclaimed in shock. Naturally, only a master of the Mystic level could manifest an aura shield. They recognized it, and they knew this aura was something their combined strength could never hope to rival.

"Yun Zi, you should be happy for me. I am no longer alone; at the very least, I have you all by my side. I am happier now than I have ever been," Sara said, resting her head on his shoulder with a faint smile.

Just as Chu Jianjia was about to lie back on the bed to rest, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

Those birds, which looked exactly like the swordsman, were spurred into action upon receiving his command. They threw themselves into the fray against the enemy birds, snapping with sharp beaks and clawing with vicious talons.

Fan Ye laughed heartily, and as he smiled, his sickly, pallid face glowed with sudden vitality.

Mouluo Qili seemed afraid to meet that gaze. He slowly closed his eyes, gripped the hilt of his blade with his right hand, and gritted his teeth.

The man let out a cold laugh and said, "Remember, my name is Li Su. Heh, King of Hongnong, go to your death!" As he spoke, he raised his sword to strike Liu Bian, and Lady Tang rushed forward, intent on shielding him.

Shang Han was thin and delicate. He appeared to be around forty, with a pale face and a beard, looking quite elegant. His complexion was ghastly white, devoid of any blood, and a large patch of his chest was soaked in blood, though no clear external wounds were visible.

That moment had truly been a brush with death. Had one step been taken wrongly, the entire army might have been wiped out. At that time, Xiao Qingtong was not yet the team leader; that role belonged to another.

Because the team from Tiancheng University of Technology consisted entirely of substitute players, they were all full of stamina and defended with exceptional vigor.

Jing Lichen pulled a thicker cotton gauze dress from the closet, felt the fabric, and turned to walk toward her.

He smiled, pinched her nose, watched her dazed, adorable expression, and pecked her pouted, cherry-red lips.

The man who was once a "ten-thousand-man enemy" in the Weibo army could no longer be arrogant. Tie Zhulong did not know that the girl had shown mercy only because she remembered he was once a man of the old Weibo Garrison.

There were 2,836 colleges and universities in the country, but only the top 100 would eventually be recorded in the national college basketball league’s list of elite basketball schools.