[Qi Ling Village · Weapon Branch?!]

Everyone on the preparation interface clicked “Confirm,” and a prompt popped up at the entrance of the Tiandi Temple. In an instant, the scene before everyone’s eyes shifted, and a team of six was refreshed into the dungeon.

The rustling sound of the wind swept past from all directions. The bluestone path was mostly cracked, with fallen leaves and dirt mixed in the broken crevices, emitting a faint stench of decay. In the distance, the red characters atop the temple gate glowed eerily, while nearby, people stood on the stone path. For the first time in a dungeon, Zhou Sui saw his teammates. The team leader, Bubble Dragon, was a Tian Wu Bastion, clad in heavy armor, his muscles bulging beneath it.

“Beastmaster, do you have a healing pet?” Bubble Dragon asked.

“I do.” Beside Rich Bro, a black-and-white spotted dairy cow appeared.

Zhou Sui: “?”

Rich Bro proudly introduced it: “Little Cow, my healing pet. Its milk output is pretty good!”

The cow was sturdy, its hooves stomping powerfully.

Zhou Sui only noticed the small golden ring around its tail, matching Rich Bro’s gear—clearly expensive.

Bubble Dragon was good at boosting morale: “You can tell it’s got big milk!”

Zhou Sui glanced at the others. They were all dressed in gear distinctive to their classes, in various eye-catching colors. Their classes were an assassin from the Yin Yue Alliance, a Daoist from Tian He Mountain, a warrior from Sui Xing City, plus the tank leader Bubble Dragon and the beastmaster Rich Bro. If Zhou Sui were a healer, this lineup would be nearly perfect.

The team leader seemed familiar with the Daoist and the warrior. After confirming Rich Bro’s healing pet, he went over to chat with them. Zhou Sui glanced sideways at Rich Bro’s pricey cow, wondering just how much “milk” it could produce. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed the assassin standing alone in the distance, looking at him.

Catching Zhou Sui’s gaze, the assassin quickly looked away.

“Alright, we’re all set here,” Bubble Dragon announced.

The Daoist and warrior had already drawn their weapons, adjusting their statuses. They seemed like experienced hands. Seeing Rich Bro join them, Zhou Sui quickly followed suit. It was his first time in a group, and this team seemed decent.

The dungeon’s atmosphere was eerie. The moment someone entered, a corresponding prompt appeared before all the players:

[A forgotten temple, lost in desolate mountains, housed a deity no one revered, a faith abandoned by both heaven and earth—a place that seemed to exist as a spiritual nexus between the two.]

The red text flashed and vanished, leaving behind a dead silence that was abruptly broken by the sound of wind. Though the fallen leaves on the ground remained still, a rustling sound flowed past Zhou Sui’s ears.

Before he could pinpoint the wind’s direction, a shout suddenly came from the front—it was the team leader.

Someone had triggered a fight.

It was the Daoist who had started it. Upon entering, he’d brushed against an object in the Tiandi Temple. In an instant, the narrow temple expanded, and the statue loomed like a towering god.

As soon as they stepped in, Zhou Sui felt the temple walls stretch upward. It wasn’t the walls growing taller—it was him and his teammates shrinking.

The first boss had appeared before them.

“Not bad luck! We’ve spawned the easiest wind-type boss!” Bubble Dragon said.

The giant statue, three times the height of a player, appeared to be nothing more than a massive stone formation, its body petrified. That illusion held only until you noticed the cracked, unnatural patterns marring its surface. Though seemingly immobile, it was already drawing in wind, which swirled and sharpened into cutting blades. Bubble Dragon, directly in its path, bore the brunt of the assault.

Bubble Dragon immediately drew the boss’s aggro, forcefully adjusting its facing. “Don’t panic, everyone get behind the boss.”

With that move, Bubble Dragon’s health dropped by 20%.

Zhou Sui quickly cast a healing spell, raising his health bar.

As a medic from Qi Ling Village, Zhou Sui’s basic healing attack had mutated into a Serpent Venom Water skill. Now, he had only three usable healing skills: one was a sustained heal he loved using while soloing, and the other two were newly acquired—a single-target big heal with a 15-second cooldown and a group small heal with a 6-second cooldown.

He’d picked these skills purely to fill cooldown gaps. Only one could heal the team: the group small heal [Flying Needle Pulse]. While other healers could restore 15% health per cast, Zhou Sui’s only managed 5%—purely for self-preservation.

“Bro, nice one!” With his health restored, Bubble Dragon activated his shield. As a Tian Wu Bastion tank, his weapon was a transforming shield. While the shield was up, he took no damage, holding the boss’s aggro steady. The other players darted behind the boss to deal damage.

The wind-type statue was one of the randomly spawned bosses in the Tiandi Temple. Unlike traditional dungeons with fixed bosses, this temple had only one boss and no minions, but the boss type varied randomly.

The wind-type statue boss in front of them was the simplest of the twelve possible spawns. It had four small skills, which players could dodge on their own. Zhou Sui had watched strategy videos; these small skills were negligible. The real threats were the boss’s three big skills: Fan Wind, Gust, and Tornado.

Soon, the boss unleashed its first Fan Wind.

A fan-shaped gust swept forward, stirring up dust from the ground. The swirling dirt had a blinding effect, carrying a heavy scent of damp earth. Zhou Sui looked up at the towering statue standing before them. Amid the flying dust, a faint glimmer seemed to flicker. Then, an attack struck suddenly, slamming into the players at the front.

What was that light? Zhou Sui couldn’t help but look up.

Team leader Bubble Dragon spoke up:  

“Fan Wind hits the front—I’ll tank it with my shield. Gust is a cross-shaped sweep, so dodge it. Tornado pulls outward, and when the whirlwind appears, run 15 meters away.” Bubble Dragon explained smoothly, keeping it concise. “Don’t worry, when the boss’s health hits certain percentages, I’ll remind you to dodge.”

Before Zhou Sui could fully assess the situation, several DPS teammates beside him saw that Bubble Dragon had stabilized the boss’s aggro and charged in with their weapons. Aside from Rich Bro, the remaining three DPS included two melee fighters: the warrior from Sui Xing City and the assassin from Yin Yue Alliance, who needed to attack up close for burst damage. The last was the Daoist from Tian He Mountain, a mid-to-long-range mage.

The assassin moved fast. As soon as he rushed in, he triggered one of the boss’s small skills, caught off guard, and lost 20% of his health.

Zhou Sui’s eyelid twitched. He had no choice but to toss a heal to barely bring the assassin’s health bar back up. He took a few steps to circle behind the boss, staying out of its attack range. As he retreated, he noticed Rich Bro from his team had also moved to a safe distance. Rich Bro had two summoned pets attacking up front, while his precious dairy cow stayed by his side, continuously healing.

Standing with Rich Bro was the Daoist. Both were benefiting from the cow’s healing, their health bars holding steady.

Zhou Sui shifted his gaze back, no longer focusing on Rich Bro. Someone who could survive in the wild until a savior arrived clearly had solid positioning. The two ranged players didn’t need his healing attention.

As for the others…  

Zhou Sui understood why Bubble Dragon had said he was easy to heal.  

As a tank, Bubble Dragon had sharp reflexes and relied on positioning to avoid regular skill damage. Except for unavoidable attacks, he could dodge everything else. Zhou Sui didn’t need to babysit him—he could maintain his own health. A well-timed skill from Zhou Sui was enough to top him off.

The melee fighters, however…  

The warrior had high health and didn’t lose it quickly. Taking some splash damage from being close was inevitable.  

But the assassin? His health kept dropping. His figure darted incessantly around the boss’s feet. Beyond unavoidable damage, he even dashed to the boss’s front, eating direct hits. Compared to the warrior, who stayed reliably behind the boss, the assassin’s health dropped far too often.

Almost every time Zhou Sui’s skill cooldowns were up, he had to target the assassin, as if he were the one soaking all the damage like a tank.

Zhou Sui’s skills were limited, and his healing output was really not high, so he couldn’t use them the moment his teammates lost health. He could only cycle through his three skills to manage the three people, maintaining a balance.

Just then, the boss in the distance suddenly shifted direction. A sudden cross-shaped Gust swept outward. Bubble Dragon blocked it with his shield, but the two melee fighters behind the boss weren’t so lucky. A scream rang out, and one figure abruptly collapsed.

The assassin was dead.

Zhou Sui frowned slightly, noting the boss’s attack direction.  

The assassin had taken two Gust skills at once.

Before the team leader could speak, the assassin piped up first: “What the hell, team leader? You didn’t call out the skill in advance?”

Bubble Dragon inwardly admitted he hadn’t noticed it either. “Sorry, sorry,” he said. “It came out too fast—I didn’t have time.”

Small skills were manageable, but the big skills had too wide a range. Bubble Dragon glanced at the warrior, who was still barely alive. His teammate had quick reflexes—seeing Zhou Sui couldn’t heal in time, he’d already popped a health potion. Bubble Dragon was about to rally the team to keep DPSing when the assassin’s voice cut through again.

“Your positioning is flat-out wrong,” the assassin snarled, his voice coming from the ground. “Just wipe, wipe already. Trash team. You didn’t even start the fight at the right spot.”

Bubble Dragon glanced at his teammates. The skill’s range had been massive just now. He responded, “So, bro, you can read the skills, huh?”

The assassin snapped impatiently, “Wipe already.”

One by one, the team fell at the boss’s feet, choosing to respawn and start over.

Bubble Dragon glanced back at his teammates. Dodging skills while commanding was indeed easy to mess up, so he figured it’d be better to hand it over to someone who knew what they were doing. “I just followed a guide online,” he said. “If you’ve got experience, bro, why don’t you take the lead?”

“We’re all newbies, no big deal. This round, listen to me,” the assassin replied, finally feeling a bit more at ease. If it weren’t for his gear missing a couple pieces and his stats falling short, he’d have joined a veteran team long ago instead of wasting time in a newbie squad. Taking command from the team leader, he started directing: “Don’t touch anything in the temple randomly. Warrior, stand here. Everyone else, over here. Ranged players, stay farther back.”

“Tsk, who asked us to have insufficient healers? The tank has to suffer a bit.”

Rich Bro frowned a bit at this positioning, then looked at the group leader who was arranged to stand alone. Bubble Dragon had a good temper and had already moved to the corner as instructed. But his movement range was suddenly reduced to a tiny, restrictive space. Rich Bro muttered, “Why are we standing like this?”

The original positioning had been in the center of the temple. With the assassin’s setup, it was like isolating the tank in a corner while leaving a huge area for everyone else.

“You got a problem with it? Wanna take over?” the assassin snapped, his tone dripping with disdain for Zhou Sui’s healing output. He shot a glance at Rich Bro. “This is based on the elite team setups from StarNet. It’s way better than your random positioning. What, you think you’re better than an elite team?”

Rich Bro chuckled awkwardly. “Oh, well, elite teams are definitely the best.”

He said that, but he still looked at Zhou Sui. Zhou Sui didn’t say a word. Ever since the assassin kept losing health earlier, Zhou Sui hadn’t bothered attacking the boss himself.

Zhou Sui lifted his head to look at the stone statue standing before them. He traced the patterns carved into its body, following them upward until he met its stony eyes.

Bubble Dragon walked over, patted Rich Bro on the shoulder, and said to Zhou Sui, “No worries, don’t feel pressured. Let’s give it a shot. If we can’t beat it, we’ll figure it out.”

“Alright, everyone, get into position. Let’s start the fight.”

The assassin let out a cold huff, finished arranging everyone’s spots, and declared the fight open.

Bubble Dragon moved to his cramped corner. He frowned, clearly feeling the restriction.

In contrast, the warrior and assassin behind the boss had much more room to maneuver, effectively shifting all the pressure onto him.

This time, the assassin’s DPS environment was far more comfortable. Assassins naturally had a lot of mobility skills, and frequent movement demanded a larger range. Now that he had the space he wanted, he started barking orders: “Get behind it to dodge. Beastmaster and Daoist, stay far back—don’t eat the skills. Fan Wind’s coming—tank, block it.”

“Warrior, don’t get too close. Play it steady and dodge the skills.”

“Tank, what’s wrong with you? Don’t zone out—raise your shield!”

Zhou Sui finished observing the boss and tilted his head to look at Bubble Dragon.

After taking aggro, Bubble Dragon stayed put in his little corner. No matter how good his reflexes were, the smaller the space, the more restricted even the most agile player would be.

Originally, Bubble Dragon had more room to move, allowing him to dodge damage and ease the healer’s burden. But with this setup, he kept taking small skills, and his health was constantly fluctuating.

Noticing his health bar, Bubble Dragon glanced worriedly toward Zhou Sui and activated a defensive skill to hold on. But defensive skills had cooldowns—once he used his set, he’d hit a vulnerable window. Just as he was figuring out how to manage, a healing spell landed on him right as his first defensive skill ended, perfectly timed before he triggered his second one.

Surprised, Bubble Dragon looked at Zhou Sui. Over the next few cycles, every time he thought he couldn’t hold on, a heal came just in time. The healing wasn’t much, but it was enough to clutch through.

For tanks like him, syncing with a skilled healer made everything smoother. He glanced over again—Cycle of Eternity was healing with more efficiency than the first round. The warrior and assassin’s health stabilized around half, and Cycle of Eternity still had enough attention to cover Bubble Dragon when he took hits.

He is a teammate with great awareness.

Bubble Dragon gradually relaxed and found his rhythm.

Five minutes passed smoothly without any deaths.

The assassin nodded approvingly. “See? That’s how it’s done.”

Zhou Sui didn’t notice Bubble Dragon’s gaze. With the assassin losing less health, things got easier for him. With this breathing room—and the tank holding the front—he felt what it was like to have teammates for once. Used to soloing, he now had plenty of time to study the boss. When the stone statue used its wind skill again, the patterns on its body shifted. Unable to make obvious movements, the statue’s intentions were all revealed through changes in its stone patterns—and those seemingly still eyes.

They were identical to the eyes of the resentful scholar from Qingshan Academy.

At this thought, Zhou Sui was about to shift his position when, as he moved, he caught a glint of strange light flickering along the statue’s patterns. An invisible Tornado skill swept across the ground, its four-directional Gust skill forming a cross. It struck the assassin mid-burst, and with a scream, his health bar instantly emptied. He collapsed to the ground.

This time, the tank wasn’t in command, and the assassin himself hadn’t noticed the skill.

A dead silence fell over the team.

“Can the healer even heal?!” the fallen assassin demanded in the team chat. “My health was so low—couldn’t you toss me a heal?”

“I was about to call you out earlier. Are your skills fake or something? Our health bars have been below half for ages. If your healing’s so low, can’t you just lock onto me and heal?”

The warrior in the team finally couldn’t hold back. “But you didn’t call out the skill.”

The assassin snorted coldly, pinning the blame squarely on the healer. “If my health had even been full, I wouldn’t have died from one hit. What kind of group is this with this little healing?”

At this moment, Rich Bro spoke up. “Then how come you’re the only one in the whole team who died?”

The other players paused, checking the team’s health bars. The boss’s Gust skill had spread out in a cross, hitting everyone in its attack range. Yet everyone else’s health was perfectly fine—they’d all dodged with proper positioning. Only the assassin had died.

The assassin was speechless. “Forget it, Cycle of Eternity, just revive me, and let’s continue.”

Zhou Sui: “I didn’t learn it.”

The assassin’s blood pressure spiked. “You’re a healer and you didn’t learn a revive skill?!”

Zhou Sui had been quiet until now, and only then did the team notice that the new healer’s voice was calm and steady—but his words cut straight to the point.

“You f—” The assassin’s curse burst out.

From a distance, someone had already swiped their hand, sending a combat stats table to the team chat.

The team’s damage output was laid bare. Topping the list was Rich Bro, who’d been steadily dealing damage with his pets. The Daoist and warrior followed with roughly equal output.

Surprisingly, Cycle of Eternity came next, ranking fourth, just behind the warrior.

And the much-hyped assassin? His damage output was a measly 12%—even Bubble Dragon, the tank, outdid him by 2%. He was dead last in the team.

No one said it outright, but the stats radiated a silent mockery.

What’s the point of saving you? Lowest damage, fastest to lose health, unclear commands, and dealing less damage than the healer and tank combined.

Not a single redeeming quality. Using healing skills on you is a waste.

“What the hell do you mean by this? Of course my DPS is low if none of you can call out the boss’s skills! I didn’t even call out your trash healing, and you’ve got the nerve to post—” The assassin’s rant cut off mid-sentence as he noticed a red text alert pop up next to Zhou Sui’s name in the team list. His profanity screeched to a halt.

[Cycle of Eternity has muted you.]

Assassin: “?”

Rich Bro sent a thumbs-up emoji.

Teammates: “…” Wow.

No attempt to hide it—just a bold, blatant mute.

Bubble Dragon glanced at Cycle of Eternity in surprise. Over the past two rounds of fighting, he’d always thought this teammate was a humble support.

Zhou Sui hated noise. Ten minutes ago, he’d already wanted to mute that guy. Now, with his ears finally at peace, the team fell silent, and the ambient sounds around him became crystal clear. He could hear the cold wind blowing into the temple from outside, stirring up dust as it swept across the ground. A faint, barely noticeable glimmer of dark light crept up the surface of the stone statue amid the dust.

“Cross Gust, fall back.”

His teammates instinctively retreated at the sound of his voice, just in time to see the stone statue unleash its Gust skill.

It was the same move that had instantly killed the assassin earlier. According to the guide, the boss wasn’t supposed to trigger skills until certain health percentages, yet here it was again.

The team scattered to dodge, their formation falling into chaos. Even team leader Bubble Dragon’s position got scrambled.

He was about to return to his spot when Zhou Sui called out to him, telling him to stay in the wide-open center where they’d started the dungeon—a space with plenty of room to maneuver.

Bubble Dragon’s gaze froze for a moment, then he heard Zhou Sui say, “Dodge.”

At this instant, Bubble Dragon noticed the box at Zhou Sui’s side.

It wasn’t a medical kit, nor did it look like a pharmacist’s medicine box up close… It was something larger—a weapon case?

A weapon case?

Qi Ling Village · Weapon branch?!

In the dim temple, the towering statue boss’s dark patterns pulsed, the flowing lines faintly visible as they climbed upward amid the swirling dust and wind. Its round stone eyes shifted, locking onto the chaotic players. Bubble Dragon sensed something off and immediately pulled back, but the boss’s unchanged facing meant its lock-on shifted to an angled side—unleashing a frontal, fan-shaped Fan Wind!

Too late—it will hit the others!

As the dust-laden wind fanned outward, the figure standing at the boss’s feet moved.

The weapon vcase at his waist shifted. A short scythe slid out from the case, aligning with his arm as he blocked from the side. Amid the wind’s howl, a crisp clang rang out as the blade met the wind slash!

A parry! He interrupted the boss’s skill!

Bubble Dragon’s eyes didn’t waver. As the wind fell silent, the scythe retracted into the case, swapping out for a pestle that appeared in his hand.

Zhou Sui’s voice rang out again in the team—

“Get to cover.”

“I’m done healing.”