Chapter 53: The Rival of the Power-Leveling Mercenary

“This is truly a bit embarrassing this time,” Huang Hong remarked with a smirk as he looked at the figure known as ‘Hero Bewildered by a Cup of Wine,’ who was currently healing and restoring his health points. His tone was laced with sarcasm.

“But I don’t think it’s something to be ashamed of,” ‘Hero Bewildered by a Cup of Wine’ replied calmly, a faint smile playing on his lips, and a trace of joy gleaming in his eyes.

“But if you say that, are you implying that because others resort to underhanded and outrageous tactics, I must also stoop to their level? After all, this is just a game. As long as it’s enjoyable and comfortable, that’s what matters. I don’t want to change myself just because of a game.”

Hearing this unusually sincere response from the typically absent-minded fellow, Huang Hong was momentarily speechless. Meanwhile, Ye Yu stood nearby, spreading his hands with a smile and said, “Yeah, he’s not wrong. Living is about being true to yourself, even in reality.”

“I agree wholeheartedly. That’s a wise statement,” Old Hu chimed in with a wave of his hand and a smile. However, his expression soon grew a bit concerned. “But on the other hand, this incident might escalate further—after all, ‘Three Years Younger’ might seize the opportunity to stir trouble. If rumors get distorted, we might end up being doxxed.”

Ye Yu shrugged casually and shifted the topic: “Don’t worry. Incidents like this have happened before in the arena. Besides, the other party isn’t a celebrity. At most, they’ll talk about it for a while, and then it’ll die down naturally.”

“To truly become famous in ‘Divine Mourning’ is no easy feat. If it were, anyone could just stir up some hype and become popular. Even top-tier streamers don’t all become stars, much less for something like this,” Luo Feng said, arms crossed, sounding somewhat annoyed.

Then Ye Yu suddenly asked, “From an outsider’s perspective, what do you all think of this matter?”

Old Hu’s expression darkened slightly. “It’s clearly ‘Wen Yukun’s fault. Once he lost, continuing to harm others wasn’t necessary. Although not forbidden, if ‘Absent-Minded’ had struck decisively, he’d have been done for. She wouldn’t have wasted that protective layer either. Without Huang Hong’s intervention, ‘Absent-Minded’ would probably be in serious trouble now.”

“You’re overthinking it,” Huang Hong shrugged and glanced at ‘Hero Bewildered by a Cup of Wine,’ who was nearly done healing. “Even if I hadn’t intervened, he wouldn’t have died. I only acted to prevent him from revealing his trump card and being targeted.”

In Purple Void City, many high-ranking members of Purple Void Illusion had already arrived and overheard Huang Hong’s words. They all looked toward the Sorcerer King, just finishing his healing, their eyes full of surprise. Clearly, no one expected him to have held back a backup plan under those circumstances.

All eyes were fixed on ‘Hero Bewildered by a Cup of Wine,’ who now smiled faintly but said nothing, tacitly confirming Huang Hong’s statement.

“I actually think that once the knight steps in, there’s no need to finish off the opponent,” Nuan Liang hesitated. “You were at full health, so the enemy should have no reason to continue fighting once they see you. I’m not saying you all are heartless, but if this kind of thing gets misunderstood and your reputation is tarnished, it could bring trouble. After all, you’re well-known figures on the Xuantian Server.”

“Yeah, ‘Nuan Liang’ makes a good point,” Ye Yu reflected thoughtfully. He agreed because, although dealing a final blow wouldn’t affect them much personally, they represented the strongest force of Purple Void Illusion. If their reputation suffered due to ruthless actions, it would be far from ideal.

“By the way, we’ll face ‘Three Years Younger’ in the finals. Are you sure you want to fight? If not, we might have to retreat to avoid unnecessary trouble,” ‘Hero Bewildered by a Cup of Wine’ said, standing slowly and stretching his arms before shrugging and asking.

“I’m definitely looking forward to facing ‘Three Years Younger.’ On the Xuantian Server, the greatest threats are the First Power faction and ‘Three Years Younger.’ The latter is the real focus. It’ll be good to send those incompetent ones packing—always lurking around us is just annoying.”

Huang Hong was the first to speak, with Old Hu adding, “I can’t stand players like that. I’ve always despised them since the old server days, so I’m all for facing ‘Three Years Younger.’”

“In that case, we should be bold and decisive to prove who truly rules the Xuantian Server. Even the wealthy First Power faction must fall to Purple Void Illusion,” Luo Wei nodded in agreement.

“Exactly! Let them see what the strongest force on the Xuantian Server really looks like,” ‘Hero Bewildered by a Cup of Wine’ laughed loudly, with Qu Zheng echoing, “Right, right. Show them the true power of Purple Void Illusion.”

“You fools,” Ye Yu cut in sharply. The others quickly turned to glare at him. ‘Hero Bewildered by a Cup of Wine’ then walked over to Ye Yu, smiling as he placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, “Our respected Purple Void Illusion leader, what was that you just said? We didn’t quite catch it.”

Just as Ye Yu was about to respond, a message popped up in the guild channel.

[Guild] Knowing People’s Warmth and Coldness (Deputy Leader): “Boss, there’s news from cross-server. Seems a beauty is looking for you.”

Everyone wisely cleared a path, understanding the importance of this matter.

[Guild] Dark Night (Deputy Leader): “Let’s all go see who’s summoned our boss.”

[Guild] Knowing People’s Warmth and Coldness (Deputy Leader): “She says she wants to speak with the boss privately.”

Ye Yu nodded knowingly and didn’t return to Purple Void Illusion’s headquarters. Instead, he headed straight to the NPC connecting to the cross-server auction house and teleported into the auction server.

…

A figure in a black robe appeared before Ye Yu. The robe couldn’t conceal the graceful silhouette beneath—the woman was none other than Ye Yu’s sister, Ye Lingxue.

“Was the three-on-one fight today with people from your guild? Were they on your team?” Ye Lingxue’s voice was low, clearly cautious of eavesdroppers, before she smiled and asked.

“They were indeed from our guild and part of my team. Do you need to come all the way here to tell me this?” Ye Yu was puzzled.

Ye Lingxue sighed. “That new player playing the offensive sorcerer path is remarkably steady, clearly gifted. Calm under pressure, solid fundamentals in attack, defense, positioning, prediction, and timing. He defeated the other three without using any skills, only three moves the whole time. He seems much stronger than you.”

Seeing Ye Lingxue’s probing tone, Ye Yu, who knew his sister well, simply shrugged without explaining. “Maybe. He’s strong on the offensive sorcerer path, but I’ve never seen his true trump card, so it’s premature to draw conclusions.”

“Is that so? He should be quite famous in your server, then?”

Ye Yu nodded. “In our server, he’s called the Sorcerer King, a fitting title. I’ve yet to see anyone who can beat him.”

“Given that, it’s no surprise he’s so skilled, though this is only the Unyielding Silver Ladder division. But tell me, you managed to defeat three players using just three moves?”

Ye Yu paused, silent for a moment. Ye Lingxue continued, “But I have confidence in you. With your precise calculations, dealing with three players shouldn’t be too difficult. Last time, you defeated the swordsman in close combat, and handled the last mage with ease, still having plenty of health and mana. After careful thought, I’d say your skills are quite evenly matched.”

“I think so too. Based on fundamentals and custom talent skill trees, there’s no obvious gap between us. Just a close contest. And for someone that strong, I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” Ye Yu said after a moment’s pause.

Ye Lingxue’s eyes widened in mild surprise. “Really? Don’t lie to your sister, or you’ll regret it.”

Seeing her astonished and somewhat shocked expression, Ye Yu frowned lightly. “Is it necessary to be so surprised? Your skills aren’t any weaker than theirs.”

“It’s not that. What I mean is, those three players your friend fought—I'm sure you know they aren’t from the Xuantian Server.”

“Yes, I checked their IDs carefully. They’re definitely not Xuantian Server players. I’m puzzled why ‘Three Years Younger’ can even contact old-server players to fight us directly.”

Ye Yu found this strange too but lacked concrete evidence to say more.

“You look oddly pleased,” Ye Lingxue smiled, looking at Ye Yu’s serious face and pinching his cheek. “Those three come from my server. They’re players from a team running online boosting shops. Their skill isn’t weak in the arena. Especially the offensive sorcerer—they rank at least top three in my server.”

In the game Divine Mourning, boosting is both simple and complicated, depending on perspective. For some, the game’s difficulty is manageable, especially in arena challenges and team battles.

Arena matches continue until one side is completely defeated or surrenders. This straightforward rule makes boosting possible, as skilled players can help others climb the ladder.

In team battles, a strong booster can handle multiple opponents, like 1v2, 1v3, or 2v3, carrying weaker teammates.

Thus, these so-called boosters exist. Even with the Divine Mourning headset, account credentials are needed, and boosters have ways to log into player accounts. After all, gaming is still gaming, and making money while playing Divine Mourning is quite appealing.

The hardest part of boosting is climbing the arena ladder, where the player’s rank rises, but their actual skill remains the same. This only matters when conflicts arise and is mostly done by wealthy players for show.

But this also shows these boosters are highly skilled, at least holding ranks in the Brilliant Diamond tier.

So, the three players Ye Yu’s group faced earlier were all opponents of professional boosters!

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