Everyone—pets included—went through a set of military boxing drills. Their movements were neat and powerful, their backs and waists ramrod straight. Most importantly, this was no mere performance!
Every punch carried genuine force. Whenever their fists struck the air, they even made brief whooshing sounds. Their knuckles were clenched so tightly that they had turned white.
The pets’ movements were a little comical, but they had surprisingly managed to imitate the routine fairly well, each adding its own unique flair...
No one was even half a beat slow, and no one was just going through the motions. Once they completed the final move, both humans and pets were breathing slightly harder, yet they still stood tall and straight, brimming with energy!
Qi Xu couldn’t help clapping enthusiastically. “You’re all amazing! As it happens, I have some good news too. I brought back quite a few useful things from the Treasure Map dungeon this time. Not only did I replenish our materials for upgrading a batch of vehicles to Level 8, I also got five hundred World Arena tickets.
“Once we enter, we can compete for a world ranking and even fight experts from other countries. It’ll be a great chance to test ourselves.”
As Qi Xu spoke, she stared directly at Dongfang Yuan and Song Peifeng. Sure enough, the two battle junkies reacted exactly as she expected. Their eyes lit up like a pair of lightbulbs.
Qi Xu didn’t keep them in suspense. “Our most important task right now is to level the guild up to Level 2. Once everyone has earned enough contribution points, you can go to Laicai and claim a World Arena ticket for free. But make sure you coordinate with one another. Don’t let our own people get matched against each other. Spread out and fight more outsiders.”
At that, Qi Xu noticed that everyone’s expressions had turned strange, as if they were trying not to laugh. She tilted her head curiously and asked Bian, “What’s going on?”
Bian grinned. “Boss, take a look at the guild information.”
Qi Xu opened it and was instantly embarrassed. Every player had at least three-digit contribution points—except for the guild leader, Invincible Whirlwind...
“They’ve already maxed them out? I’ve only been in the guild for three days!”
Qi Xu stared wide-eyed in disbelief. She hadn’t joined a guild during the previous game cycle, so she had no idea how guilds actually worked.
“You don’t have to run guild dungeons to earn contribution points,” someone explained. “Putting items into the guild warehouse works too. It’s a pretty reasonable system: those with money contribute money, and those with strength contribute strength!”
Now Qi Xu understood. She immediately deposited one hundred thousand Survival Coins into the guild account. Her contribution points, which had been zero just a second earlier, instantly shot up to ten thousand...
What a bargain. She no longer had to worry about not having time to run guild dungeons!
Qi Xu suddenly felt like finding a quiet place and taking a peaceful drive along the highway—not entering a dungeon, not going to the Treasure Map dungeon, not going to the Color Secret Realm... She wanted to slow down the relentlessly tense pace of life and take a moment to adjust her mood.
Before, she hadn’t had the conditions or the choice. Now, as long as she continued growing stronger, she also needed to improve her quality of life. Only then could she make it farther.
Everyone’s contribution points had reached one hundred. They had completed the requirement of clearing three guild dungeons long ago—not only had they completed it, they had gone far beyond it, clearing thirty-two in total...
So Qi Xu immediately pressed the guild upgrade button. Reliable teammates really did make all the difference!
The upgrade would take an hour, and coincidentally, today’s morning training session was beginning as well.
Today’s training task was one-on-one sparring. Dongfang Yuan came straight over to Qi Xu, barely able to contain her excitement.
“What a coincidence. You’re the one I wanted to fight most too.”
Qi Xu tilted her head adorably and blinked. Dongfang Yuan smiled so broadly that she could barely close her mouth.
Unfortunately, Battle Wolf 006 had no sense of romance and gave a cold explanation instead. “The last person to arrive at morning assembly will automatically be assigned as the battle captain. Watch me beat your opponent, Whirlwind Boss. You were the slowest today, so remember to move faster tomorrow.”
Qi Xu’s mouth twitched, but she answered with perfect seriousness, “Got it!”
It had been a long time since she had sparred with Dongfang Yuan, and Qi Xu was eager to fight as well. On top of that, she had gained a great deal from her previous battle with Ingrid. She wanted to show Sister Yuan how much she had improved.
At first, the two of them merely tested each other, staying near the edge of the service area. But as they gradually found their rhythm, their battle spread across more and more ground. The groups around them had to keep giving them room.
In the end, Qi Xu and Dongfang Yuan simply left the service area and began fighting on the highway.
The monsters that had been cooped up all night came rushing over as soon as they caught the scent. After all, it was still the “Hundred Ghosts Roaming” disaster, and it wasn’t yet time for vehicles to operate normally.
Yet the two people who had been fighting fiercely just a moment earlier suddenly turned around in perfect unison, wiping out every monster that had diligently gotten up early for its shift!
The early bird gets the worm? Not on this highway—the early monster gets butchered. That was the highway’s truth!
After killing the last monster, Qi Xu and Dongfang Yuan quickly turned back and resumed their duel.
Qi Xu’s Sakura Fall was still with the little goblin, while Dongfang Yuan had also left Purple Charm behind. Both of them were using ordinary steel blades.
After only a few hundred exchanges, they had each broken three steel blades. The two of them simply abandoned their weapons and began trading punches directly.
“Let me into your domain!”
“Then you’ll lose!”
“I won’t lose. I’ve got plenty of moves left!”
Qi Xu vaguely felt that Dongfang Yuan was probably even stronger than Ingrid. The reason Qi Xu had been able to suppress her earlier was that Dongfang Yuan hadn’t used her Death Domain, while Qi Xu had been using Crimson Assault the entire time.
Once she entered the domain, Qi Xu clearly felt that her teleportation skill had become severely restricted. Every time she reappeared, Dongfang Yuan was able to locate her almost immediately.
On top of that, Dongfang Yuan’s skill damage had increased. Before ten minutes had passed, the Death Domain came to an end, and Qi Xu was already beginning to struggle...
Gritting her teeth, Qi Xu held on and used every move at her disposal. Even so, she could barely manage a draw. Dongfang Yuan had not been trying to kill her—the two were still treating this as a sparring match. Otherwise, the outcome would have been decided long ago.
Although Qi Xu was a little discouraged, she was sincerely happy for her friend. It was a good thing that she wasn’t the strongest member of the team in every area.
Everyone had their own strengths, and they could all learn new things from one another. That was the only way the team could continue moving forward steadily!
After adjusting her mindset, Qi Xu calmly allowed Sister Yuan to kick her more than ten meters away...
Then she handed over ten World Arena tickets. “Go on, Sister Yuan. Bring home first place in the world!”
Dongfang Yuan had still felt somewhat unsatisfied. After all, Qi Xu had improved again! If she hadn’t known Qi Xu from the very beginning, she might have suspected that some expert had possessed her body.
But the moment she received the World Arena tickets, they completely captured her attention. Without taking even a minute to rest, she charged straight in.
Qi Xu curved her lips into a faint smile. You go compete for the rankings. I’ll hunt monsters on the highway. Maybe I can even steal first place on the district’s monthly leaderboard!
............
