12 Entering the Instance

Tang Xuan retrieved each thrown needle, then sat cross-legged on the spot to restore his inner strength.

The skill Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles was indeed formidable in attack, capable of instantly killing a group of level 7 or 8 players. However, each needle consumed five points of inner strength—a total of sixty-five points expended. It was not something to be used recklessly!

Tang Xuan had only 120 points of inner strength in total. After regaining his energy through meditation, he led Wang Yajun and the other three women, pushing open the gates of Blackwind Stronghold and entering the dungeon.

Normal, Hard, and Nightmare—three difficulty levels. They could only choose Normal, as Hard required levels 11 to 15, and Nightmare demanded levels 16 to 20.

By this time, many of the leading figures from the major gaming guilds and elite players had formed full parties of up to ten people, beginning their own assaults on the dungeon.

Tang Xuan was not willing to fall behind; the first dungeon clear usually came with generous rewards. Moreover, he had noticed that killing players from the Death Dance Guild brought no penalties—there was no infamy, red name, or any such system as in previous online games. It seemed that "Great Wuxia" did not prohibit players from fighting one another.

…

“Halt! Who goes there?”

As soon as Tang Xuan and his party—Wang Yajun, Luo Qingqing, Qin Yanran, and Li Weiwei—entered the Blackwind Stronghold dungeon, they were met by more than a dozen humanoid enemies.

These humanoids were bandit lackeys of Blackwind Stronghold, ranging from level five to seven, evidently responsible for guarding the entrance.

“No wonder this dungeon allows from one to ten players. We’ve barely entered and already run into a dozen enemies,” thought the women simultaneously. All four of them were only at level five—how could they handle so many level five to seven foes?

But having witnessed Tang Xuan’s overwhelming strength when he instantly slew the Death Dance Guild members, the four women felt no worry.

This time, Tang Xuan did not use the Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles. Instead, he equipped the green-grade Tiger Fang Saber and charged directly into the fray.

Upon reaching level nine and equipping the Tiger Fang Saber, his attack power reached 245. When unleashing the perfected but incomplete Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber technique, a second-grade sword art, his attack soared by 180%, reaching a terrifying 686!

With a single slash, he killed a level six bandit outright.

He pressed on, his skills relentless, executing the incomplete Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber as if he were a true martial arts master.

Blades flashed repeatedly; with each strike, a Blackwind bandit either died or was grievously wounded and collapsed.

The women did not remain idle. They finished off the wounded and dying bandits or prevented any from escaping.

According to the game’s one-hundred-percent realism, the surviving bandits—startled by Tang Xuan’s slaughter—soon began to flee. If allowed to escape deeper into the stronghold, they would surely summon a mass of reinforcements, which even Tang Xuan might not be able to handle.

Soon, the group had cleared out all the bandits at the entrance.

Tang Xuan sat to recover the inner strength expended by his saber technique. The four women were in high spirits; the battle had taken little time, yet the experience gained from these bandits was substantial.

As they continued through the dungeon, their experience would only grow, and before long they could rise to level six, perhaps even seven—a pace far quicker than the entire day’s grind it had taken to reach level five. Especially since it became harder to level up after five.

“Let’s go.”

Once Tang Xuan had restored his inner strength, he led the four women deeper into the stronghold.

Soon, they encountered patrol after patrol. Groups of ten or more bandits were common, sometimes swelling to twenty or thirty. The enemies’ levels climbed higher as well—from five, six, and seven, up to eight, nine, and even ten.

But even when faced with two or three dozen bandits, Tang Xuan’s attacks could not be resisted. With his attack power, once he unleashed the Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber and reached 686, a strike to a vital point would trigger a critical hit. If not an instant kill, the blow would incapacitate the enemy, leaving them defenseless.

After reaching level nine, his speed was an astonishing 210—even without using movement skills, he far outpaced the bandits and could seize the initiative even when surrounded.

Not to mention, Wang Yajun, Luo Qingqing, Qin Yanran, and Li Weiwei were hardly weak themselves. The four women gradually rose from level five to six, and then to seven. Even with relatively basic skills, they could still inflict damage on the bandits.

If any bandits tried to escape and the women couldn’t intercept them, Tang Xuan would simply cast Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles, instantly killing the fleeing enemies.

By now, they had slain over two hundred bandits.

After Tang Xuan meditated to recover his strength, the group pressed on and arrived at a fortified checkpoint.

Ahead, two level-fifteen Blackwind bandit leaders stood guard with more than twenty bandit minions.

Seeing Tang Xuan and his party approach, one of the leaders shouted, “You scoundrels! How dare you trespass in Blackwind Stronghold! You must have a death wish!”

As bandit leaders, they had already begun cultivating inner strength and possessed considerable martial prowess, classed as elite monsters with status within the stronghold—far above the lesser bandits who knew only basic martial arts and ranged from level five to ten.

Tang Xuan had previously slain such a leader outside the novice village’s mine. Now, there were two at once.

Yet Tang Xuan was no longer the same as before. With the Tiger Fang Saber and Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber, his attack power had soared.

“Careful!”

Seeing the two leaders charge with two dozen bandits in tow, Tang Xuan called out a warning, then advanced instead of retreating to take the initiative.

He sheathed the Tiger Fang Saber, drew thirteen needles from his game inventory, raised both hands, and unleashed the Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles!

-503

-465

-1204

In an instant, the needles, empowered by inner strength, dealt widespread damage. One level-fifteen bandit leader, charging in front, was caught off-guard; a needle pierced his left eye—a fatal strike!

With Tang Xuan’s skill dealing 602 damage, this critical hit did 1204 points at once.

The other bandit leader, though not struck in a vital spot, was hit by two needles. With a base defense of 150, and around 200 with inner strength buffs, each needle still inflicted over 400 damage.

Tang Xuan then drew his Tiger Fang Saber, its attack at 245, and assaulted the two leaders with the Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber.

With his fearsome attack power of 686 after skill activation, and both leaders wounded—one blinded in the left eye and gravely injured—they stood no chance, even together.

Soon, both were slain.

Tang Xuan turned his blade on the remaining bandits.

The four women, meanwhile, were struggling to fend off the bandits’ attacks, but with Tang Xuan’s intervention, the tide turned as he reaped the lives of the bandits one by one.