260: Chapter 260 There is a successor
"God-Favored Swordsman?"
"What a rare class."
"Strange. Level 120 isn't low, so why haven't I seen this person on the leaderboards?"
"Could it be..."
Xiao Yan didn't reveal himself, but Zhao Mengxiu, who was currently farming groups of mobs, seemed to sense something and suddenly glanced toward the spot where Xiao Yan was hiding.
"He spotted me?"
"That's impossible; even Boss Ye can't find me when I'm invisible!"
Xiao Yan seemed to have been in a state of shock all day. First, he was shocked by Yun Ge's teammates, and now the God-Favored Swordsman before him held a longsword similar to A-Tang's, glowing with an orange light. With a single skill, the sky filled with orange radiance, and massive swaths of monsters fell instantly!
"Level 190 monsters, seventy levels higher than him, and he actually cut them down in two hits..."
"And a Legendary Weapon... then Boss Ye must have given it to him..."
"I can't believe there's someone like this in the Awakened Alliance!"
Xiao Yan didn't reveal himself and quietly retreated. As a Great Swordsman, Xiao Yan's current damage was around 200,000 per strike, taking about two hits to kill Level 190 mobs. However, this Zhao Mengxiu was only Level 120 and only had one piece of legendary equipment—his weapon—yet his damage was actually comparable to Xiao Yan's!
"Another SSS-Rank Talent!"
"Impressive. The Awakened Alliance has a worthy successor!"
Xiao Yan sent a message to Ye Fan. As expected, Zhao Mengxiu hadn't been awakened for long—only about five years. For the first two years, he hadn't even reached Level 100. It was only recently that he started to stand out, and after Ye Fan discovered him, he gave him a Legendary Weapon.
"I'm getting old!"
Xiao Yan sighed, feeling the burden on his shoulders suddenly lighten significantly. For the past century, a few of them had been carrying the weight of all humanity as they navigated the unknown. But now, more and more SSS-Rank Talents were appearing: Li Shaopeng the Astrologer from before, this God-Favored Swordsman now, and Yun Ge, who, while not an SSS-Rank Talent, was freakishly strong.
These young people had reached Level 100 one after another and were bound to become humanity's top combat power in the future, greatly sharing the responsibility borne by Xiao Yan and the others.
"What? An SSS-Rank Talent?"
"Come on, let's go say hello!"
When Xiao Yan mentioned his encounter with Zhao Mengxiu, Ma Sai immediately jumped up.
An SSS-Rank Talent was a rare treasure. Humanity only had a few to date. Even those as strong as Tang San and Ye Xiu only had SS-Rank Talents; every SSS-Rank Talent was incredibly powerful!
Ma Sai had seen it before: Li Shaopeng, at only Level 10+, could solo Dungeons and bosses. Now they had encountered a Level 120 SSS-Rank Talent—another existence capable of soloing bosses.
Yun Ge quickly cleared the mobs in front of him, and the group of seven approached Zhao Mengxiu. Zhao Mengxiu had already killed all the surrounding monsters and was crouching on the ground to recover mana. He was quite surprised to see the seven of them.
So... his earlier feeling that someone was watching him was actually correct.
"Boss Xiao, long time no see."
"This must be Yun Ge. I've heard much about you."
Zhao Mengxiu stood up and greeted Xiao Yan and Yun Ge calmly. He hadn't been awakened for long and didn't know many people; he was mostly familiar with Xiao Yan and Yun Ge. As for the others, he had only seen their names in system announcements.
"Little Zhao, coming to the Abyss to farm monsters alone is very dangerous."
Xiao Yan was putting on airs again. Zhao Mengxiu had a faint smile on his lips and didn't argue, but it was obvious that for an SSS-Rank Talent, the Abyss was the best place to level up.
"Ahem."
Zhao Mengxiu's reaction made Xiao Yan feel like he was losing face, so he coughed awkwardly twice. Yun Ge, Ma Sai, and the others came forward to shake hands with Zhao Mengxiu one by one. This was an SSS-Rank Talent, after all, and everyone added him as a friend.
Although Zhao Mengxiu was only Level 120, lower than A-Tang, Xiao Yan, and Han Li, with his SSS-Rank Talent, catching up in level was only a matter of time.
"Let's grab a meal sometime."
After a brief greeting, the two parties went their separate ways to farm. After a few steps, Zhao Mengxiu suddenly turned back and said:
"By the way, that valley ahead of you is a bit unusual. I sense a dangerous aura."
A dangerous aura?
"I can feel it too!"
Ma Sai, who was sensitive to danger, spoke up. However, through the Prophecy earlier, everyone already knew there was a massive boss by the cliff, so they were mentally prepared.
"Thanks for the warning. We're here specifically for it."
Here for it?
Zhao Mengxiu mulled over the words. He didn't say anything; with Xiao Yan and Yun Ge's abilities, perhaps this was normal.
"See you around then."
"See you around."
...
Zhao Mengxiu left alone, and the party of seven continued forward, killing various monsters along the way. The experience points of the party members grew rapidly.
"Boss Xiao, how about you wait until we find the legendary treasure chest before coming over? Your level is too high, and you're taking too much of our experience."
"Yeah, Boss Xiao, hanging out with us at your level... it's just not cool enough."
After farming for so long, Su Lei and Ma Sai began to grumble at Xiao Yan. Originally, the team's levels were similar, so everyone got a decent share of experience. But now, with a Level 140 big shot like Xiao Yan in the party, he was taking the lion's share.
In Yun Ge's squad, only Yun Ge had reached Level 100. Ma Sai and He Xin were desperate to level up, let alone Su Lei, who was the lowest level and was being heavily affected by Xiao Yan's presence.
Xiao Yan snorted with his nose in the air, completely ignoring them. Even the team's farming workhorse, Yun Ge, hadn't said anything, so what were these two deadweights talking about? It's not like he was taking your experience.
And...
Xiao Yan suddenly felt that being a leecher was quite nice. Before, he had to work hard and risk his life farming monsters, even with high talent and good gear. Now, it was great; the monsters Yun Ge was fighting were nearly Level 200, so Xiao Yan could get plenty of experience. Most importantly, he didn't have to do a thing.
Sweet!
And so, with a few people grumbling under their breaths, they finished the day's battle, successfully pushing their route forward by a significant distance.
This path wasn't walked in vain. Any place Yun Ge had scouted could be directly teleported to using the Space-Time Gate in the future. Once Yun Ge had explored the entire Abyss, he could enter or leave any location at will.
In the days that followed, Xiao Yan stayed directly in Yun Ge and the others' small courtyard. He followed the team to farm monsters every day, leaving early and returning late. As the days passed, everyone's level increased, and they drew closer to the cliff.
"Is this the valley?"
"That wasn't easy."
After farming for so long, the group felt quite tired. They finally reached the valley Xiao Yan had mentioned. From here, they could faintly see a distant cliff.
"Look over there. Is that a dark shadow moving?"
"That's it. I can feel the dangerous aura!"