30: City of Holy Light

"Where is Brother Chen going? I want to go too."

Hearing their conversation, Xiaoyue couldn't help but lift her head and stare intently at Xiao Xing.

After her favorability reached 80, she had already fallen for Xiao Xing; there was no difference between them and a couple. That was why she reacted this way upon hearing that Xiao Xing was leaving.

"I'm just going out to improve my strength. Yueyue, just wait for me at home. I'll come back to see you often."

Seeing her become clingy, Xiao Xing was also delighted. However, the Divine Deer couldn't use Space-Time Leap yet, so he couldn't take her with him. He could only wait until later to come back for her.

Besides, after the Golden Finger recovers tomorrow, he plans to pull off something big. Currently, he doesn't have a house in the city for Xiaoyue to live in, making it inconvenient to have her by his side while he works.

"Alright then, Brother Chen, you must pay attention to your safety when you go out to fight monsters. Yueyue will wait for you at home."

Cheng Xiaoyue's expression was originally somewhat worried, but after hearing Xiao Xing's words, she showed a happy look.

She thought Xiao Xing was like before, just fighting monsters near the village and coming back sooner or later, so she didn't feel much reluctance.

"Good. When I find something beautiful, I'll bring it back as a gift for Yueyue."

After saying their goodbyes, Xiao Xing walked out of the door and headed toward the teleportation array at the Village Chief's house.

This teleportation array was at the entrance of the Village Chief's house. As long as one reached Rank 10, a teleportation interface would pop up when approaching it.

System Notification: Do you wish to travel to Holy Light City?

"Yes."

Xiao Xing clicked confirm, and his figure flashed, disappearing directly from the spot.

System Announcement: Attention everyone! The warrior Jian Chen has passed numerous trials with extraordinary strength, becoming the second warrior in the Zihua Divine Kingdom to reach the Divine City. He is hereby rewarded with the title (Vanguard of the Brave), (Flowing Light War Boots), and 2000 Prestige points. (Drooling) (Drooling)

System Announcement: Attention everyone! The warrior Jian Chen has passed numerous trials with extraordinary strength, becoming the second warrior in the Zihua Divine Kingdom to reach the Divine City. He is hereby rewarded with the title (Vanguard of the Brave), (Flowing Light War Boots), and 2000 Prestige points. (Drooling) (Drooling)

System Announcement: Attention everyone! The warrior Jian Chen has passed numerous trials with extraordinary strength, becoming the second warrior in the Zihua Divine Kingdom to reach the Divine City. He is hereby rewarded with the title (Vanguard of the Brave), (Flowing Light War Boots), and 2000 Prestige points. (Drooling) (Drooling)

The three System announcements appeared again, causing those top experts who were working hard to level up to feel somewhat despairing.

When the first person appeared, they used every ounce of strength they had to level up, all to strive for these three announcements. They all knew very well what such an announcement meant.

Once famous, there were many things one could do. Just like those internet celebrities, the money they earned was beyond what ordinary people could compare to, let alone getting the highest-level announcement here.

Now, everyone was gradually discovering that playing the game could make them stronger. Originally, only about 100 million people entered the game at launch, but that number has now doubled.

Each Novice Village became increasingly crowded, and the leveling spots on the outskirts were already filled with people everywhere. Moreover, this number was still constantly increasing; it was simply terrifying.

The game Continent of Gods and Demons does not restrict online time, but it does have a night cycle. At night, not only does a player's vision drop by more than half, but all monster attributes increase by 30%.

This nighttime period is from 00:00 to 08:00. Under normal circumstances, very few people go out to level up during this time because the rewards are not proportional to the risks.

But now, during the new server launch period, even during the game's night, there were still dense crowds of figures leveling up in the wild, showing just how popular this game was.

After the teleportation, Xiao Xing appeared in the square of Holy Light City.

There were 10 teleportation arrays distributed around the square, which could teleport to the other 10 cities of the Zihua Divine Kingdom.

The south side of the square was the location of the City Lord's Mansion. Here, one could not only take official position missions but also buy low-level mounts like the Thousand-Mile Horse. City events and missions were also taken here. Additionally, the System warehouse was right next to the square, and the Class Change Hall and Mission Hall were all nearby, so this would be the most bustling place in the future.

Xiao Xing was naturally extremely familiar with all of this and wasn't particularly excited. Even with his eyes closed, he could walk to any location in the city.

"Brother Jian Chen, why did you just arrive? I've been waiting for you for several hours!"

As soon as Xiao Xing snapped back to his senses, he saw a message from Qing Lan. Judging by her tone, it seemed like she had been waiting for him for a long time.

"According to my calculations, you've probably been waiting for me for less than 10 minutes."

Xiao Xing gave a disgruntled glance and directly exposed her.

It had only been a bit over an hour since the update ended. Qing Lan likely went to the Class Change Hall after logging on, but the class change mission was something she, a Rank 10 Priest, simply couldn't complete.

In her helplessness, she thought of what Xiao Xing had told her. Then she went to get the daughters red and roast duck, running for an hour before reaching those coordinates.

After she knocked hard on the door, an old man opened it and impatiently gave her a scolding. In the end, it was her timely presentation of the roast duck and wine that soothed the old man's mood.

Afterward, she promised to frequently bring wine for the old man to drink, but the old man wasn't very satisfied with this daughters red and wanted to drink better wine.

Then she received a hidden mission from this old man. After eating and drinking their fill together, Qing Lan went out for a stroll. She didn't dare go alone to the Rank 30 Monkey King's territory to steal wine, so she thought of Xiao Xing.

"How... how could it be only 10 minutes? I've been waiting since the game finished updating!"

Seeing her lie exposed, Qing Lan's pretty face flushed, but she still stubbornly refused to admit it.

She thought Xiao Xing didn't know what she had been doing; as long as she didn't admit it, who would know what she had just done?

"Stubborn as a mule! Come to the Official Mission Adjutant here."

After replying to the message, Xiao Xing summoned the Divine Deer.

As soon as the Divine Deer appeared, brilliant light dazzled the entire square. It shifted between purple-green and white-gold, with multiple halos surrounding its body, making it look mysterious and noble.

This was the legendary Auspicious Qi. Not only was it extremely beautiful, but it could also block a portion of damage.

The Divine Deer was currently Rank 0, so its body was only the size of a zebra, but it could already carry two people.

Xiao Xing nodded with satisfaction. With just this mount alone, even in the Late Stage of the game, he would still be the coolest guy on the street.

After putting away the Divine Deer, he walked toward the Mission Adjutant. Here, one could receive all kinds of official position missions.

Low-level ones included helping to process arrows or hunting monsters to collect Materials. Mid-level ones included wiping out bandit dens or escorting grain and grass. High-level ones included wiping out outposts of the Dark Forces or scouting the nests of the Dark Forces.

Occasionally, some 10-star ultra-difficult missions would refresh. 10-star missions appeared very rarely, but the rewards upon completion were also the highest.

However, these types of missions usually involved going to the battlefield or heading into the Demon Race territory to assassinate key personnel; they weren't something ordinary people could complete.