61: Chapter 61 The Ring of Time! Let's Slay the Dragon!

Su Chen did not lower his guard, still gripping his weapon as he said in a deep voice, "I'll ask one more time, who exactly are you?"

The girl didn't respond directly. Instead, she picked up a skewer of roasted tiger meat, took a bite, and said indistinctly, "What's the rush? Anyway, we'll be dealing with each other again soon."

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl's figure suddenly moved. Su Chen only felt a blur before his eyes; the other party had instantly breached his defense barrier. Within a few breaths, she was right in front of him, so close that he could smell the faint, cold fragrance on her body.

This speed far exceeded that of a Sixth Awakening powerhouse, even leaving Su Chen with no time to react.

"So fast!" Su Chen's heart tightened, and he immediately activated his [True Sight Eye]. A purple light flashed in his eyes, and the girl's detailed attribute panel instantly appeared.

[Zhao Qingyue: Level 141 (eighth awakening Peak), Class [Polar Night Blade Shadow] (Agility-type Warrior), HP 8,800,000, Strength 720,000, Agility 880,000, Spirit 650,000, Defense 580,000. Talent: [Sword Emperor] (SS-grade), +200% to all attributes when wielding a sword. Equipment: legendary-grade · Night Blade, legendary-grade · Shadow Meld Leather Armor, legendary-grade · Fleetfoot Boots, legendary-grade · Armor-Piercing Short Blade, Dark Gold-tier · ring of time.]

Looking at the heaven-defying values on the panel, Su Chen's pupils constricted. With 720,000 Strength and 880,000 Agility, these attributes were close to an eighth awakening BOSS. Combined with the SS-grade talent [Sword Emperor], her combat power was simply terrifyingly absurd.

"eighth awakening Peak..." Su Chen quickly calculated in his mind. "The class advancement difficulty must be at least four stars or more, and she has four pieces of legendary-grade equipment. This is definitely top-tier combat power, more terrifying than any powerhouse I've ever seen."

Seeing Su Chen's shocked expression, Zhao Qingyue's lips curled into a playful smile. She put away her short blade and spoke calmly, "From the look of it, you should know my strength now. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Su Chen took a deep breath and slowly lowered the flame of joy. His face showed no panic; instead, he put on an indifferent expression. "What's the use of being afraid? With such a huge disparity in strength, resistance is futile. I might as well just give up and save myself the trouble."

Though he said this, his hand secretly reached for his spatial ring. Inside, he had already prepared an Invisibility Scroll and a Random Teleportation Scroll. These were his trump cards; if anything went wrong, he could escape immediately.

Zhao Qingyue raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise appearing in her eyes behind the sunglasses. "Interesting. With the strength of a Second Awakening, you dare to conspicuously eat hotpot deep in the Hundred Thousand Snow Mountains and remain so calm. It seems you aren't as simple as you look on the surface; you must have some extraordinary means of self-preservation."

"I wouldn't call them self-preservation means, just good luck." Su Chen smiled and pointed to his eyes. "I have the [True Sight Eye], which lets me discover hidden monsters in advance. Monsters below the Sixth Awakening can't threaten me at all. Combined with Xiao Zi's strength, I can walk unchallenged in the outer regions of these snow mountains."

As he spoke, Su Chen picked up a freshly roasted skewer of tiger meat and handed it to Zhao Qingyue. "Here, try my handiwork. My culinary skills could rank in the top three among amateurs."

Zhao Qingyue didn't refuse. She took the skewer, took another bite, and her brow relaxed slightly. "The taste is indeed not bad, much better than those delicacies from land and sea I've had before."

The two sat by the fire, eating roasted meat and drinking spring water. The originally tense atmosphere gradually softened.

Outside the barrier, the wind and snow filled the sky, but inside, it was warm and cozy. A seemingly impossible 'polar picnic' was quietly taking place.

Before they knew it, most of the roasted tiger meat had been eaten. Zhao Qingyue wiped the corner of her mouth, took off an entirely silver ring from her finger, and tossed it to Su Chen. "This roasted meat tasted good; consider this my meal fee."

Su Chen caught the ring; it felt cold to the touch. Complex patterns were engraved on the surface, emitting a faint glow. He immediately activated his [True Sight Eye] to check the ring's attributes.

[ring of time (Level-less Dark Gold Equipment): No level restriction for wearing. Strength +5,000, Agility +8,000, Constitution +6,000. Skill: [Time Reversal], automatically triggers upon receiving fatal damage, restoring 50% HP and Mana. Cooldown: 12 hours. Note: Attributes exceed Level 40 Dark Gold equipment, comes with an extremely rare Resurrection mechanism.]

"Level-less Dark Gold! And it has a Resurrection skill!" Su Chen was ecstatic. He unhesitatingly took off his original ring and put on the [ring of time].

Instantly, a powerful force surged into his body. His attributes increased again, and his survivability took a direct leap forward.

"Thank you, big shot!" Su Chen tucked away his smile and said seriously, "This ring is too valuable. A single meal of roasted meat can't possibly compare to it."

"It's just a small gesture; it was useless for me to keep it anyway." Zhao Qingyue waved her hand dismissively. "Being able to kill a Snow-Winged Sword Tiger in these snow mountains means you have some skill. You deserve this ring."

Su Chen's heart stirred, and he took the opportunity to say, "Big shot, are you also here in the Hundred Thousand Snow Mountains for a quest? As a Second Awakening little newbie, I'm really uncertain in these mountains. If I could follow you, I'd definitely avoid a lot of detours."

He wanted to hug her thigh. If he could follow an eighth awakening Peak big shot, he would have nothing to fear, let alone his Third Awakening quest—even if they encountered a stronger BOSS.

Hearing this, Zhao Qingyue stood up, straightened her leather clothes, and the gaze behind her sunglasses turned cold and detached. "I'm not here for a quest. I have my own business."

As she spoke, she turned and walked toward the outside of the barrier, her figure gradually becoming illusory.

"Big shot, where are you going?" Su Chen quickly asked.

Zhao Qingyue's figure paused. Without looking back, her cold and powerful voice carried through the wind and snow, filled with an unquestionable determination: "To slay a dragon!!!"

As her voice fell, her figure completely vanished into the swirling snow, leaving Su Chen standing alone inside the barrier, his face full of shock.

"Slay a dragon?" Su Chen muttered to himself, a huge wave of shock surging in his heart. "There are actually dragons in the Hundred Thousand Snow Mountains? And it's a dragon that requires an eighth awakening Peak big shot to personally set out to slay. Its strength must far exceed that of a Dark Gold BOSS!"

He suddenly thought of his Third Awakening quest. The target was the 'Shadow Mantis', and the quest location was deep within the snow mountains.

Since Zhao Qingyue's goal was to slay a dragon, their paths were highly likely to intersect deep in the mountains.

"It seems my Third Awakening quest might be even more dangerous than I imagined." Su Chen gripped the [ring of time] in his hand, a flash of determination in his eyes. "But that's fine. Being able to meet an eighth awakening big shot and having god-tier life-saving equipment like the [ring of time], even if I encounter a dragon, I might still have the power to put up a fight!"