77: Swordplay Contest

With equipment like that not appearing on the leaderboards, it was obvious that Xiao Xing was hiding everything about himself.

Otherwise, with his weapon and mount, he could surpass those at the top of the rankings in a heartbeat.

“Wow, I really love this sword.”

After checking its attributes, Three-Year-Old Cute was overjoyed.

The moment she saw the sword, she had already claimed it as her own in her mind.

This was because she felt that landing a single hit on Xiao Xing would be too simple. After all, he said they were just comparing sword skills, which meant no other skills would be used.

This gave her one hundred percent confidence that she could hit Xiao Xing, which was why she looked so certain.

“Come on.”

Xiao Xing took out his never-wearing-down Novice Sword and signaled that she could make her Move.

Whoosh!

Without further hesitation, Three-Year-Old Cute charged straight at Xiao Xing. Only when she got close did she draw the sword from her back, intending to catch him with a surprise attack.

This would prevent the enemy from predicting her next Move.

Clang!

The two swords collided and crossed.

As soon as the longswords clashed, Three-Year-Old Cute twisted her wrist.

Her small hand and weapon moved like a spirit snake, bypassing Xiao Xing's weapon and stabbing toward his neck.

This split-second movement was as smooth as flowing water, as if she had known in advance that Xiao Xing would parry that way.

But Xiao Xing's reactions were also extremely fast. Just as her weapon circled around, his sword-hand pressed down, forcing her hand downward.

While her hand was momentarily stalled, Xiao Xing released his sword, and his other hand caught the hilt mid-air, preparing to strike at her lower body.

However, Three-Year-Old Cute took advantage of her short stature, kicking Xiao Xing's hand away before retreating backward.

This first exchange of blows seemed to end in a draw.

“Big Devil, I didn't expect your reactions to be so fast.”

After pulling back some distance, Three-Year-Old Cute couldn't help but offer some praise.

Her martial arts teacher had said she was very talented in swordsmanship and that her reaction speed was the strongest among all her classmates.

She had never lost to anyone in class, so she hadn't expected this Big Devil to actually have some skill, being able to react to such a fast Move on the fly.

“Call me Brother Jian Chen from now on... No, call me that right now, or I'll spank you.”

Xiao Xing ignored her praise. After this exchange, he had a rough idea of her attack style.

It was basically the flexible and ever-changing type, where 'no form' beats 'form.'

Given her age, her body in reality should be very supple, making such Moves even more agile in the real world.

If she could stack her agility a bit higher in the game, she would be incredibly fast in both her movements and her strikes.

However, currently, her agility was far lower than Xiao Xing's, putting her at a great disadvantage.

Xiao Xing didn't want to do anything to her; he just wanted to see if she was proficient in swordsmanship. Now that he knew, there was no need to continue the contest.

“Hmph, if you give me that sword, I'll call you that.”

Seeing that Xiao Xing didn't intend to attack, Three-Year-Old Cute started eyeing the Epic-grade weapon again.

The weapon's attributes seemed to be deeply etched into her heart; ever since she saw them, she couldn't forget them.

“How about you all join the You Lan Guild? I'll definitely give it to you once you reach Level 25. What do you think?”

Xiao Xing wanted to recruit Tian Chen and the others. These people all had the skills of top-tier experts, but they refused to join any guild.

Back then, even when they reached Level 50, they still hadn't joined a guild, so Xiao Xing knew they definitely weren't in one now.

Hearing Xiao Xing's words, Three-Year-Old Cute's eyes lit up, and she immediately looked toward Tian Chen and the others.

She had also thought about joining a guild for fun once those guilds were established.

“Brother Jian Chen, we're used to being free. We don't want to be tied down by guild restrictions, so...!”

Seeing the two of them looking at him, Tian Chen's expression flickered with hesitation, but he still spoke his mind.

In previous virtual games, he always sought out people who didn't join guilds to play with, and the teammates beside him were the same.

They had entered the Continent of Gods and Demons together, while Three-Year-Old Cute was a temporary addition to the team.

If nothing unexpected happened, they would have persuaded Three-Year-Old Cute to remain guildless with them and stay away from inter-guild conflicts.

They just wanted to kill monsters and level up freely, without being under anyone's control.

If they had wanted to join, plenty of guilds would have recruited them given their strength; they wouldn't have waited until now.

“Little Devil, what about you?”

Hearing their intentions, Xiao Xing nodded. Since they preferred their freedom, there was nothing he could do.

He still hoped they would join; having experts like them would be a huge boost to the guild's development.

However, Xiao Xing didn't care too much. With his own strength and abilities, he could turn the tide in many situations. Because of the Golden Finger, he was just that powerful.

“Big Devil, if you promise to frequently get me equipment and weapons, I'll join.”

Three-Year-Old Cute didn't think that far ahead.

She just felt that since Xiao Xing was so strong, he could definitely get lots of good weapons and gear, and she wouldn't have to work so hard killing monsters in the future.

She had only been with Tian Chen and the others for a few days, so she didn't have much emotional attachment to the team yet. Leaving didn't feel like a problem to her.

“Call me Brother Jian Chen, and from now on, you have to listen to what I say. Then I'll agree.”

Xiao Xing took out the Epic weapon again and gave it a flourish. If she wasn't obedient but still wanted him to help her get gear, she was dreaming.

Xiao Xing just felt she had a good foundation. If nurtured, she could probably become an Empress without any problem.

That way, when humanity faced the ancient gods and demons, there would be one more powerful force on their side.

“Hmph, Brother Jian Chen. If you don't give me good equipment in the future, I won't call you that anymore.”

Three-Year-Old Cute had already intended to follow Xiao Xing, but she still gave a light hmph, acting as if she would leave at any time if Xiao Xing didn't get her equipment.

Moreover, it wasn't just the Epic weapon; she also wanted that extremely beautiful Divine Deer not far away, but it wasn't the right time to ask yet.

After seeing that Xiao Xing had so many good things, she wouldn't leave now even if he tried to drive her away, but naturally, she couldn't show that.

“You have to listen to your brother from now on, you hear?”

Xiao Xing rubbed her head and then looked toward the piles of treasures.

“Go to that tallest pile of treasure, find the Dungeon Certificate, and then take it to Sister You Lan. Go on.”

If a special map like this was a dungeon, the final boss would drop a certificate.

If no Dungeon Certificate dropped, then it was just a special monster zone.

Unless they were a Rebirth player like Xiao Xing, no one would know in advance if a map was a dungeon; they would only find out after clearing it.

If a Dungeon Certificate dropped, whichever team managed to take it out would be the one to clear it.

If the clearing team belonged to a guild, an announcement would be made along with the leader's guild name.

“Xiao Meng, stop rummaging. Take it to Sister You Lan.”

Seeing that she had found the certificate but still wanted to dig through other treasures, Xiao Xing stopped her.

Those things were for Tian Chen and the others, as a small way of helping them out.

If they faced any difficulties in the future, Xiao Xing knew he would still lend a helping hand.