Floor 2. The Central Nest.
The battle against the Sonic Emperor Bat was a meat grinder. The floor was slick with blood, and the air smelled of iron and ozone.
"Hold the formation!" screamed a disciple of the Iron Blood Sect.
"Useless trash! Get out of the way!"
A streak of azure light cut through the chaos.
A young man in pristine white and blue robes, seemingly untouched by the filth of the battle, soared into the air. He was handsome, with sharp eyebrows and eyes like cold stars. He wielded a longsword that hummed with a high-frequency vibration.
This was Ye Qingyu, the "Sword Prince" of the Azure Sword Sect. A genius at the Qi Condensation Stage 8.
"Azure Lotus Sword Art: First Bloom!" Ye Qingyu roared.
His sword didn't just slash; it painted. Seven phantom lotus flowers made of Sword Qi bloomed around the Bat's head.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
The petals exploded. The Sonic Emperor Bat shrieked as deep gashes opened on its face, blinding its echolocation organs.
"He's strong!"
"That's the genius of the Azure Sword Sect!"
While the crowd marveled, a round, ball-like figure rolled frantically between the legs of the Bat.
"Mommy! Mommy save me!"
This was Wu Pang (Fatty Wu). A rogue cultivator who looked more like a merchant than a warrior. He held a golden abacus in one hand and a giant wok lid in the other.
BAM!
The Bat stomped. Fatty Wu raised the wok lid. A golden barrier shimmered, absorbing a hit that would have crushed a tank.
"Supreme Turtle Shell! Defensive Treasure!" Fatty Wu squealed, bouncing away from the impact. "Who will compensate me for the durability loss?!"
In the shadows of the cavern ceiling, unseen by anyone, a figure clung to the rocks like a spider.
She wore tight black leather armor and a veil. Her presence was almost non-existent. She was Su Mei, a disciple of the mysterious Shadow Pavilion. She wasn't fighting. She was waiting. Her eyes were locked not on the boss, but on the fifty floating Jades.
The Climax.
The Bat was enraged. It was bleeding, blind, and surrounded.
[Boss HP: 15%]
Lin Fan, hiding behind his boulder, saw the health bar turn red.
"Ye Qingyu is doing all the work," Lin Fan grinned, raising his Desert Eagle. "Thanks for the carry, Sword Prince. But the XP is mine."
He channeled almost all his remaining Qi into the gun. The barrel began to glow red-hot.
At the same time, high above, Zhang Wei made his move.
He had climbed directly over the center of the arena. He was hanging by one hand from a stalactite, fifty feet above the ground. Below him, the Jades spun in the green light.
"Now," Zhang Wei whispered.
He let go.
The Intersection of Fates.
Time seemed to slow.
1. The Sword:
Ye Qingyu prepared his final strike. "Azure Lotus: Withering Strike!" He leaped, aiming to decapitate the beast.
2. The Bullet:
Lin Fan pulled the trigger. KABOOM! A bullet of compressed fire and lightning, the size of a fist, shot from the darkness.
3. The Drop:
Zhang Wei plummeted through the air, diving past the Bat's head, his hand reaching for a jade.
4. The Shadow:
Su Mei flickered, vanishing from the wall and appearing in mid-air near the Jades using a shadow-step technique.
CRASH!
Lin Fan's bullet was faster than Ye Qingyu's sword.
It struck the Sonic Emperor Bat directly in its open mouth. The explosion blew the back of the creature's head out.
[Boss Defeated.]
[Damage Contribution: Lin Fan (15% - Killing Blow).]
[Experience Awarded.]
[Level Up: Qi Condensation Stage 5.]
The Bat collapsed, its massive body slamming into the ground, sending a shockwave of dust and bone fragments everywhere.
Ye Qingyu landed, his sword swinging through empty air. He stared at the headless corpse, his face flushing with rage. Someone had stolen his kill.
But the chaos wasn't over. The Jades were scattering.
"The Jades! Grab them!"
Zhang Wei, falling from the sky, snatched a green token out of the air. He tucked it into his robe and prepared to land.
But as he fell, he locked eyes with Lin Fan.
Lin Fan stood on top of the boulder, smoke rising from his gun. He saw the Bat die. He saw the loot drop. But then he saw Zhang Wei falling with a Jade in hand.
"You!" Lin Fan's greed turned to malice. "That belongs to the strong!"
Lin Fan aimed the gun at the falling Zhang Wei. He didn't care that the boss was dead. He wanted everything.
He pulled the trigger.
Click.
[System Warning: Qi Depleted.]
"Damn it!" Lin Fan cursed, throwing the gun into his inventory.
Zhang Wei landed heavily, rolling to absorb the impact. He was bruised, but he had the Jade.
Fatty Wu, who had been blown away by the shockwave, landed face-first on a Jade. "Oof! What's this? Money?" He grabbed it.
Su Mei, moving like a wisp of smoke, snatched two Jades before anyone realized she was there, then vanished back into the shadows.
Ye Qingyu, furious at having his glory stolen, vented his anger by slashing his sword, claiming three Jades for himself. "Trash! Who dared to interfere?"
The remaining forty-three Jades fell into the crowd.
"Kill!"
"Mine!"
The cultivators turned on each other. It was a bloodbath.
Lin Fan didn't join the scrum. He sprinted toward the glowing boss loot chest that had appeared next to the corpse.
"Forget the Jade for a second," Lin Fan panted. "The Boss Drop!"
He reached the chest just as Ye Qingyu turned toward it.
"You!" Ye Qingyu pointed his sword at Lin Fan. "You used that concealed weapon! You stole my kill!"
"Finders keepers, Pretty Boy," Lin Fan sneered. He kicked the chest open, grabbed the contents without looking, and activated his Phantom Step to flee into the crowd, slaughtering a weak disciple to steal a Jade on his way out.
The Sovereign's Palace.
"Beautiful," The Sovereign clapped slowly. "A perfect mess."
"The party is forming," Unit Alpha noted.
"Indeed," the Sovereign nodded, pointing at the screen.
The Hero (Zhang Wei): "The Moral Compass. He succeeded through guts."
The Anti-Hero/Villain (Lin Fan): "The DPS. Greedy, effective, morally bankrupt."
The Rival (Ye Qingyu): "The Elitist. Strong, but too proud."
The Rogue (Su Mei): "The Ninja. Efficient. She plays the objective."
The Tank/Comic Relief (Fatty Wu): "The Luck Build. He survived by being round."
"Master," Alpha asked. "The item Lin Fan looted from the boss chest... it was the 'Ring of the False King', correct?"
"Yes," the Sovereign smirked. "It gives a massive stat boost but makes the user radiate a 'Taunt' aura that annoys everyone around them. It fits him perfectly."
He looked at the survivor count.
[Floor 2 Survivors: 50.]
"Fifty enter Floor 3. The Tutorial is over. Now... let's introduce them to Politics."