Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 145 – Is distance a problem?

Caught between two women, Lin Jichen decided to vent his frustration on the Poison Sect Elder.

With Ren Lan drawing aggro and Jiang Luoyu controlling the enemy, Lin Jichen could unleash his full power.

He no longer needed to dodge skills or outsmart the opponent; he just had to keep swinging his sword.

Thanks to Ren Lan's help, other players quickly retaliated.

The president of Misty Rain Pavilion was grateful for Lin Jichen's assistance and assigned dozens of healers to restore their health and mana.

Before long, the Poison Sect Elder lay in a pool of blood.

[Cultivation +2000! Battle Merit +200!]

Lin Jichen gained more battle merit and cultivation, though less than from the short elder before.

That was because the short elder was a mid-Crystal Realm challenge, and Lin Jichen had soloed it.

This time, he had the help of Ren Lan, Jiang Luoyu, a group of healers, and other players who contributed some damage.

The battle merit and cultivation were shared.

As for the Poison Sect Elder's Soul Burial Mound, Lin Jichen didn't hesitate to take it.

"Little Lin, what good stuff dropped?" Ren Lan asked curiously.

Lin Jichen checked and found a Mysterious Grade item!

No way! This is unreal!

[Mysterious Grade Martial Art: Explosive Killing Heavy Punch]: Dash in a chosen direction, delivering a deadly punch within 15 meters, dealing 850 base damage, causing a 1-second stun, and putting the target in a weakened state for 20 seconds. Also, a shield equal to the damage dealt is formed, and the target's aggro is forcibly transferred to the user.

Weakened State: All attacks and skill damage of the target are reduced by 30%.

Cooldown: 20 minutes, Mana Cost: 800 points.

Requirement: Body Cultivators with 60+ Root Bone can learn.

Wow! This is amazing!

Lin Jichen exclaimed, knowing this martial art was famous in his past life, a must-have for top-tier body cultivators.

"It's a skill book, perfect for you. Go ahead and learn it."

Without hesitation, Lin Jichen handed the skill book to Ren Lan.

Although selling it at the auction house would fetch a price higher than the Shadow Blade, making it a centerpiece item, Lin Jichen preferred Ren Lan to learn it.

Ren Lan's face flushed with excitement after reading the skill's attributes.

"Little Lin, you're the best! Truly my good... friend~"

Ren Lan originally wanted to say "brother," but seeing Jiang Luoyu nearby, she deliberately said "friend," emphasizing the word to make Jiang Luoyu ponder.

Jiang Luoyu's expression changed slightly but quickly returned to a smile.

"Do you think you're the only one with a Mysterious Grade skill book? Little Chen gave me one long ago, Demonic Qi of Annihilation, a Mysterious Grade Spirit Skill. Plus, my staff and robe are both Mysterious Grade, all gifts from Little Chen."

Ren Lan snorted, "What's so great about that? You just got lucky. If Little Lin found a Mysterious Grade body cultivation skill, he'd give it to me first. Our relationship is something you, an online friend, can't compare to."

Jiang Luoyu was momentarily speechless, realizing she was indeed just an online friend to Lin Jichen.

But she quickly adjusted her mindset.

"So what if we're online friends? Many couples start as online friends and end up together. If we like each other, is distance a problem? Besides, I can always move closer. Just tell me where you live, and I can be your neighbor in no time."

Ren Lan panicked, fearing she might be serious.

"Dream on! We won't tell you our address!" Ren Lan huffed.

Jiang Luoyu had no real intention of asking for Lin Jichen's address, fearing he might think she had ulterior motives.

The two fell into a silent standoff, ignoring each other.

Lin Jichen was on the verge of tears. What a mess!

He couldn't understand how some people could juggle multiple relationships without trouble.

He hadn't even started and was already feeling tormented.

"Alright, calm down. We're here for battle merit, not to argue. If we delay any longer, other players will take all the merit."

Lin Jichen reminded them.

The two women snapped back to reality. Yes, they were here for battle merit, not to fight over a man...

"Hurry, Little Lin, get moving, or we'll lose all the merit."

"I heard battle merit can be exchanged for reputation. Little Chen, we need to hurry."

For the first time, the two women agreed on something.

Lin Jichen sighed in relief. It was still possible to mediate; the problem shouldn't be too big...

The three resumed their search for Poison Sect Elders.

Unfortunately, most had already been dealt with. They only found two Crystal Realm elders still alive, but they were nearly defeated by other players.

Seeing the elders were almost taken care of, they didn't feel right about stealing the battle merit and left empty-handed.

"Sigh, we should've come earlier," Ren Lan sighed, disappointed at missing out on the merit.

"Blame yourself for arguing with me and wasting so much time," Jiang Luoyu accused.

"Hey, who was arguing with whom? It was clearly you..."

"Alright, alright, don't panic. There's still battle merit to be had!"

Seeing them about to argue again, Lin Jichen quickly intervened.

The two women stopped and looked at Lin Jichen, waiting for him to reveal where the merit was.

Lin Jichen pointed to the mountain, "Up there, the Grand Elder and Sect Leader should have much more merit."

"You mean we should rush up and take the merit first?" Ren Lan's eyes lit up.

Jiang Luoyu was also tempted.

"It's possible, but it's very challenging. If they team up, we might not handle it," Lin Jichen said.

In his past life, the Ten Thousand Poison Sect had two late-Golden Elixir Grand Elders and an early-Golden Elixir Sect Leader.

He wasn't sure if that had changed.

"Let's go check it out. If we can handle it, we'll fight; if not, we'll retreat," Ren Lan said eagerly, wanting to test her new Mysterious Grade martial art.

"Luoyu, what do you think?" Lin Jichen had no objections but wanted Jiang Luoyu's opinion.

Seeing Ren Lan's eagerness, Jiang Luoyu couldn't disagree.

The three quietly left the main group, sneaking up the mountain while others dealt with elite disciples.

To their surprise, they weren't the only ones with this idea. Others had already gone up and were fighting a red-haired demonic cultivator.

As the commander, Lin Jichen could share information about the enemy through the team channel.

[Demonic Cultivator: Grand Elder]

[Sect: Ten Thousand Poison Sect]

[Cultivation: Late Crystal Realm]

[Vitality: /]

[Strength: 240]

[Defense: 201]

[Speed: 215]

The group seemed to be a small guild with over a thousand members.

They were frantically attacking the red-haired demonic cultivator.

But their attacks were ineffective against the Grand Elder.

A single mana shield from the Grand Elder easily nullified their skills.

Thinking they could overwhelm the Grand Elder with skills was wishful thinking.

Unless their numbers increased by dozens of times.

Moreover, with a casual move from the Grand Elder, many players would die.

Despite the one-sided battle, the players refused to give up, fighting desperately.

Typical overconfidence, leading to self-destruction.