Chapter 33: Seven of the Top Ten, Reaching Level 60 First

"If this divine weapon had appeared on any other server, it would likely have been tossed into the 'Auction House Server' for direct sale. But here in 'Xuantian,' I suspect the 'First Faction' intends to give it to their strongest spear-wielding player. We cannot allow them to get their hands on it; if they do, the situation will become truly dire."

'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' expression darkened. He clearly understood the gravity of the situation; if the 'First Faction' managed to seize this divine weapon, it would spell disaster.

"Therefore, we cannot let the 'First Faction' find 'Flying Dragon in the City'."

Luo Feng frowned and said, "Moreover, we have already brought their guild under the banner of 'Purple Void Illusion.' They have chosen to apply to merge into our guild. Compared to the 'First Faction,' we are the ones worth defecting to."

"However, we do have a bit of a headache on our hands."

After saying this, Luo Feng gave a bitter smile. "The reason they agreed to join when we invited them was because we told them our great Witch King God was also in 'Purple Void Illusion.' That is the crux of the problem."

Ye Yu then gave Luo Feng a thumbs up. Before 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' could speak, Ye Yu praised him, "This is actually a brilliant turn of events, well done. Since we have found people to help with the massive project of building the city, and have successfully brought that guild into 'Purple Void Illusion,' our healer's adaptability is truly impressive."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Luo Feng frowned, clearly rolling his eyes at Ye Yu.

Ye Yu shrugged, his expression turning cautious once more. "While we can currently stand toe-to-toe with the 'First Faction,' we must still prevent them from gaining the power to suppress us. If they were to snatch this away, it would be extremely troublesome for us. We must acquire the 'Flying Dragon in the City' divine artifact before they do to make them give up hope entirely."

"Aside from this method, the only other way is to possess the level and ability to completely crush their top strength," Ye Yu added after a moment's thought.

Luo Feng glared at Ye Yu and retorted, "I think you are well aware that there are many people in the 'Xuantian' server who possess Saint-tier equipment, right? The 'First Faction' clearly has one person with several pieces. Average players cannot possibly counter them using your second method. Furthermore, keep in mind that we only have a few pieces of Saint-tier equipment, and crucially, we lack the quantity they have. We are outmatched in numbers."

"But, do you remember what this blockhead said?"

Suddenly, Ye Yu shook his head, pointed at 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero,' and curled his lips into a smile, looking slightly carefree. "If we cannot do it in reality, then in the game, we should live as willfully and freely as we please, unrestrained by anything."

"Right, and we should not be driven back by any difficulty."

Huang Hong also smiled, nodded, and stepped up beside Ye Yu.

"Not swayed by anyone," Luo Feng added, curling his lip, and the others gathered around.

"Not feared by anything."

"Not blocked by anything."

"Speaking of which, our minimum target is to reach Level 55, though Level 60 would be ideal. Given the current situation, that won't be easy. I recommend we level up individually; it will be more efficient to maximize our experience gains. Since we are heading to leveling grounds that exceed our current level, we can gain an extra 100% experience bonus for being 10 levels above our own."

Ye Yu spoke up, and everyone understood his meaning. Since they had to seize the 'Flying Dragon in the City' divine artifact, the only way was as Ye Yu suggested. By splitting up, the task would be less daunting, and individual grinding was the only way to secure that extra 100% bonus.

"Good."

"Then we shall see each other at the arena!"

"Agreed, see you at the arena."

The seven of them formed a circle, stretched out their hands, and spoke in unison: "Let's do this."

...

Ye Yu had already mapped out a new leveling strategy. This was the most effective approach; leveling up rapidly was the best path forward.

Monsters in this world clearly had distinctions between physical and magical defense. Some wild monsters possessed immense physical defense but were highly vulnerable to magic. Ye Yu's strategy was to seek out these high-physical-defense monsters, as they could not withstand magical attacks.

Ye Yu had also found specific data on the official world map of "God's Fall" regarding the distribution of these monsters. He identified regions where they respawned quickly, allowing for nonstop, high-efficiency grinding until his mana was depleted or negative status effects began to accumulate.

In the coming period, Ye Yu aimed for at least Level 57 to 59. Level 60 was the calculated limit; reaching it would require some fortuitous encounters. While the odds of such encounters in "God's Fall" were not high, they weren't impossible either—provided one wasn't cursed with bad luck.

Ye Yu knew this grinding was fast, but it was just mindlessly killing the same type of monster over and over. He found it incredibly dull and tedious—the exact kind of leveling he detested most. Yet, for the sake of 'Purple Void Illusion' and his companions, Ye Yu had no choice but to push through.

And so, Ye Yu spent his time doing exactly what he loathed, clearing waves of monsters. Negative status effects piled up until he could no longer bear them, at which point he would take a break and return to 'Purple Void City' in the 'Ancient Heaven' region to check on the construction progress. Luo Feng also returned to help with the massive city project, though they were all essentially grinding separately.

During his downtime, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' took time to contact his former subordinates in 'Loyalty Eternal' who were willing to follow him, arranging for them to secretly transfer and join 'Purple Void Illusion.' The merger could only be officially filed once 'Purple Void City' was completed. Otherwise, if the 'First Faction' forced a coalition of other factions to attack, 'Purple Void Illusion' might not be able to hold out, or at the very least, would suffer heavy losses—a pyrrhic victory at best.

Luo Feng returned to 'Purple Void City' the most, as overseeing the construction was one of his primary duties. As a healer, he was highly sought after and found it much easier to level up by joining high-tier parties for grinding and dungeons.

An elite healer always found themselves in this situation, as they were the most coveted members for any party.

The level cap on the 'Xuantian' server was raised to Level 60. The moment it happened, all players stared at the 24-hour updating level leaderboard. Their pupils constricted in shock as they looked at the information of the players at the top.

First place, Liang Ye, String class, Level 58, Purple Void Illusion.
Second place, An Ye, Medical class, Level 58, Purple Void Illusion.
Third place, Yi Xiu Dada, Puppet class, Level 57, Purple Void Illusion.
Fourth place, Xin Ai, Spear class, Level 57, Purple Void Illusion.
Fifth place, Qu Xiao Zheng Dang A Dang, Stealth class, Level 57, Purple Void Illusion.
Sixth place, Cong Cong Cong Cong Cong Ge, Witch class, Level 57, Purple Void Illusion.
Seventh place, Cup of Wine Traps the Hero, Witch class, Level 56, Purple Void Illusion.

The top seven spots on the leaderboard were held exclusively by players from 'Purple Void Illusion,' while the eighth through tenth spots belonged to the 'First Faction,' with a gap of two to three levels between them.

This was beyond anyone's imagination on the 'Xuantian' server. When everyone saw that the ID of the soul of the former 'Loyalty Eternal'—'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero'—had appeared under the 'Purple Void Illusion' banner, the entire server realized that the mastermind behind the previous joint attack on 'Loyalty Eternal' by the 'Saint's World' and 'War Song' factions was undoubtedly the 'First Faction.'

Although no one dared to say it out loud, it was clear to everyone that only the 'First Faction' possessed such capability.

They never expected that the attempt to seize the resources of 'Loyalty Eternal' would fail, and more importantly, that it would lead 'Purple Void Illusion' to recruit 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero.' The 'First Faction' also learned that 'Purple Void Illusion' had gained over a hundred members from the former 'Loyalty Eternal,' all loyal followers of 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero.'

The construction of 'Purple Void City' was now essentially complete; the outline of the city was finished, and the buildings within were one by one being finalized.

By now, defensive outposts could be seen along the walls. The headquarters of 'Purple Void Illusion' was situated deep in the center of 'Purple Void City,' near the mountains, built into the landscape. The lumber mill was located to the north, with a resource recycling building right beside it. The east side was transformed into a commercial district and residential housing. 'Purple Void City' had already invited merchants from the 'Auction House Server' to set up shop, which undoubtedly gave them a significant head start.

In just one day, thirteen shops from the 'Auction House Server' had been recruited to station themselves in 'Purple Void City.' After all, the 'Ancient Heaven' map was sufficient for them to set up operations.

Thanks to the efforts of the guild members over the past few days, 'Purple Void City' was no longer the desolate, impoverished, and embarrassing place it once was. Now, plane trees lined the roads, ancient trees stood in the gaps between buildings, and small flowers and plants were everywhere. The open ground was covered with grass, and the entire city radiated vitality. The world channel celebrated the creation of 'Purple Void City,' which left many factions that had previously sought to acquire the rights to build the city with dark expressions. They never imagined 'Purple Void Illusion' would build a city so early. With the city now complete, it became a major headache for any faction standing in opposition to 'Purple Void Illusion.'

Once the city was built, the guild's territory would be fixed there, meaning that to attack the guild, one had to attack the city. Even at its preliminary stage, the city was more than sufficient to defend itself.

The architecture throughout the city matched the style and colors of the surrounding 'Ancient Heaven' region, with the exception of the 'Purple Void Illusion' guild buildings, which were constructed with an outer shell of purple crystal, appearing incredibly brilliant.

In the center of the city stood a purple crystal fountain, and in its middle was a stone pillar reaching toward the sky, inscribed with three large, dragon-like characters that shimmered with purple light.

Purple Void City!

After about three days, Ye Yu was the first to reach Level 60, hitting the limit. This was the highest level currently allowed on the 'Xuantian' server. While the function to continue leveling had been enabled, it required double the experience points of a normal level-up.

For Ye Yu, however, it made no difference, as the next stage would take at least seven days to reach—plenty of time for him to widen the gap once more.

"I didn't expect you to be the one to reach Level 60 first."

Ye Yu appeared in 'Purple Void City,' where an Arena Messenger NPC stood, allowing players to teleport directly into the arena. A clear, crisp voice came from afar, causing Ye Yu, who was standing before the NPC, to pause slightly.

The person approaching was none other than the blockheaded Witch King, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero.'

"You are truly something else, being the first to hit Level 60. I had thought it would be 'An Ye,' that guy is a highly sought-after healer, very formidable."

'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' gave a wry smile and said, clearly questioning Ye Yu.

"Sigh, I won't tell you that I've been grinding the exact same type of wild monster over and over. To secure that 100% experience bonus, I kept at it, again and again—the same monsters. I've killed so many I could throw up."

Ye Yu shrugged and spread his hands. Upon hearing this, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' face twitched slightly.