47: Chapter 47 Lin Muyang Under Scrutiny

Even within Tianqi Tower, Shen Yanshan and Sun Wenyuan did not reveal the truth about that mysterious outside helper to the elite members who were about to participate in the raid.

The reason was simple—it was unnecessary, and might even be counterproductive.

If they had been told in advance that the "strong reinforcement" they held such high hopes for was actually just a newcomer who had only completed their Class Transferee process a few days ago (despite being a super genius), and that they wouldn't even show their face and would only provide support in a mysterious way, it would likely have immediately caused a huge commotion and skepticism within the team.

At that point, all sorts of issues would follow, and voices of doubt and opposition would likely be endless. If anyone felt it was unreliable and backed out at the last minute, even gathering a team of 20 people would become a problem.

Shen Yanshan dared to make this decision because he had personally felt that terrifying power of suppression. However, this did not mean that all his subordinates possessed his level of courage and judgment.

After all, in anyone's eyes, entrusting a key position that determined the success or failure of a precious Sovereign-rank secret realm scroll to a newcomer of unknown level and identity was an extremely risky, if not insane, action.

At this moment, Shen Yanshan himself did not know that the female super genius he imagined was actually the same person as his daughter's classmate, the Summoner Lin Muyang, who possessed the "Friend of Beautiful Girls" constitution.

In the solemn conference hall, the nineteen selected powerhouses were all elites of Tianqi Tower. The gear they wore was at least Sovereign-rank sets exuding powerful energy, and some even possessed one or two rare Sovereign-rank individual pieces, with light flowing over them, projecting an imposing Aura.

Yet, even such an elite team armed to the teeth still felt overwhelmed when facing the Burial Ground, a Sovereign-rank team secret realm. They had organized two raids but couldn't even successfully take down the first boss.

That boss's offensive was like a violent storm, carrying all sorts of tricky mechanisms that were difficult to deal with, leaving them scrambling for their lives. During the last attempt, the main tank in the team, who was level 96 and had the best equipment, was almost instantly killed by a burst of damage. It was only by relying on all the healing classes giving their all and expensive life-saving items that they barely managed to save their life. That thrilling scene cast a shadow of psychological trauma over everyone.

It was precisely because of this that they were filled with doubt and unease regarding the Guild Leader's sudden announcement that he had found a "strong reinforcement" and was full of confidence to challenge it again.

Who exactly was that mysterious big shot? Which super guild did they come from? Or were they some reclusive solo powerhouse?

Did they really have the ability to reverse the trend of their two previous failures?

...

Just as the Tianqi Tower headquarters was busy with intensive pre-battle preparations for the Burial Ground secret realm, with various supplies, potions, and backup equipment being repeatedly checked and confirmed...

Lin Muyang was enjoying the joy brought by efficiently grinding Dungeons.

The base drop rate of platinum-rank Dungeons was indeed lower compared to the previous gold rank team secret realms. Even with the "Loot Extraction" Aura activated, every time a wave of monsters was cleared, the glimmer of loot on the ground seemed a bit sparse.

However, the quality had undergone a qualitative leap! Once a diamond-rank piece of equipment or a skill book dropped, its value far exceeded that of platinum-rank equipment. Any decent 22nd-level diamond-rank equipment could easily sell for over a million magic crystals on the market.

Of course, for Lin Muyang, these yields were naturally prioritized to satisfy the needs of his own team.

【Heavenly Rampart Sword (Diamond-rank)】: One-handed sword, restricted to swordsman-type classes. Physical Attack +1560, Strength +140, Agility +160, Attack Speed +55%. Special effect: 25% chance to trigger 【Heavenly Rampart】 upon attacking, causing 200% additional physical damage for that attack. Equipment requirement: Level 22.

"A level 22 swordsman weapon with quite good stats," Lin Muyang looked with satisfaction at the long sword, which had an ancient yet gorgeous design with faint flowing light on the blade. "It even comes with a trigger-based triple damage effect; this is a rare affix."

As a level 22 weapon, it would be no surprise if this 【Heavenly Rampart Sword】 fetched a sky-high price of twenty to thirty million magic crystals if auctioned off.

Unfortunately, the Dragon Girl Ao Qingyan had not yet reached the required level and could not equip this sharp weapon for the time being. Otherwise, under the terrifying buffs of Auras like the 【Aura of Offense】, a casual swing of her sword could deal tens of thousands of damage, and when the special effect triggered, it could even exceed one hundred thousand! Coupled with the ten-fold attack speed provided by 【Lethal Tempo】, her instant burst output capability would likely surpass Elabess, who was currently the main force.

Of course, physical classes relied more on the panel stats provided by equipment, while the power of magic classes was more reflected in skill levels and effects. Lin Muyang had not yet farmed any particularly powerful dark-type spell skill books; most of what dropped were ice, fire, and other types. It seemed his luck hadn't arrived yet.

In terms of group clearing ability, Elabess, who possessed 【Dark Surge】 and 【Dark Lightning Chain】, was currently superior to Ao Qingyan. The two had different roles and each had their own merits.

Only at this moment did Ao Qingyan truly and deeply realize that the words Lin Muyang said to her yesterday, "I can make you several times stronger today," were definitely not empty talk!

In addition to the growth in base stats brought by leveling up, her entire set of equipment had been replaced from white board and bronze all the way to uniform platinum-rank and even diamond-rank individual pieces. This all-around improvement had increased her actual combat power by far more than a few times.

Especially after Lin Muyang led the team to clear two platinum-rank Dungeons, and Ao Qingyan successfully caught up in level and equipped the freshly obtained 【Heavenly Rampart Sword】 and other diamond-rank armor...

Her four base stats were now on par with Lin Muyang, Lilia, and Elabess, all reaching the astonishing value of around 600 points! Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Spirit had all skyrocketed!

It was no exaggeration to say that any one of the three of them now possessed the absolute strength to single-handedly take on all the students at First High School—and that was without calculating the buffs from Lin Muyang's Auras.

If one counted those heaven-defying Auras... Lin Muyang made a rough estimation: if not for the lack of quantity and variety in their skills, they would even have the capital to compete with veteran teachers like Su Qingyue!

After a whole day of crazy Dungeon grinding, Lin Muyang had led the three girls to clear a total of four platinum-rank Dungeons (due to limited respawn numbers), and spent the rest of the time sweeping through some gold rank Dungeons as a supplement.

His level and the levels of the three girls had all risen to level 26!

"Level 26, I can activate six Auras simultaneously," Lin Muyang felt the increase in his own power. "For now, it's completely enough!"

He did not rush to sell all the equipment and skill books harvested today. Because he was very clear that after tomorrow, magic crystals would just be a number to him.

Besides this, he had another extremely important harvest today—a total of three 【modification stone (god grade)】!

He carefully summarized the pattern: 【Divine Touch】 seemed to only have a probability of appearing in Dungeons above level 20 that were of platinum rank or higher.

"It seems that in the future, if I want to farm these stones, I'll have to run at least platinum Dungeons..." Lin Muyang rubbed his chin. "But the problem is, just around Zhongnan City, not many platinum-rank Dungeons refresh in a single day."

Even counting Dungeons of all level ranges, the number of platinum-rank ones was extremely scarce. High-level Dungeons themselves had a low refresh probability, which was one of the reasons why many older generation Class Transferees could not continuously and rapidly increase their levels—there were not enough high-quality Dungeon resources to consume. Many known, stable high-quality Dungeons and secret realms had long been carved up and monopolized by major guild forces.

Lin Muyang had not yet fully stepped into that circle, but he had already realized that relying solely on the resource distribution map around Zhongnan City would likely soon be unable to satisfy his terrifying Dungeon grinding efficiency.

He needed a wider area and more detailed sources of information...

...

Finally, the agreed-upon day arrived.

At noon, Lin Muyang let Lilia and Ao Qingyan stay at the villa to rest, taking only Elabess, who could change her appearance and was convenient for hiding identity. The two activated stealth and flew towards a specific area located in the far suburbs of Zhongnan City.

That place was called the "Tianqi Hunting Ground," a natural canyon exclusive to Tianqi Tower, with treacherous terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

For high-difficulty team secret realms like the "Burial Ground," which were opened via precious secret realm scrolls, to prevent the secret realm from collapsing after a failed raid and monsters pouring out to endanger the city, they were usually chosen to be conducted in such specific locations far from crowds. After opening, the guild would also dispatch a large number of elite members to guard and set up defenses in the surrounding area to deal with any unexpected events that might occur.

At this time, Shen Yanshan personally led the nineteen carefully selected raid members and had already arrived at the center of the canyon.

On the high ground surrounding the canyon, there were over a hundred mid-level elites of Tianqi Tower strictly guarding, and even several guild elders with levels exceeding 100 were personally overseeing, making the atmosphere stern and solemn.

It could be seen that the nineteen powerhouses about to enter the secret realm were all fully armed and tense. The team had a complete configuration of tank, damage, and healing/support classes, with both men and women, but there was not a hint of relaxation on anyone's face, only the heaviness regarding the unknown challenge and deep suspicion toward that "mysterious outside helper."

From yesterday until now, they had tried every method to fish for information, but they were never able to find out any concrete information about that key figure from the Guild Leader's mouth. This feeling of being kept completely in the dark made some impatient members gradually become annoyed and restless.

Just at the moment before the secret realm entrance was about to open, a burly man wearing heavy dark golden armor, looking like an iron tower, suddenly stepped forward. He was the S-rank 【Steel Bulwark】 hired by Tianqi Tower at a great cost, the team's main tank—Augus. Beneath his heavy helmet, his gaze was sharp and filled with dissatisfaction, his voice low like metal grinding:

"Guild Leader! The secret realm is about to open!" His tone carried suppressed anger. "If you still refuse to reveal who that 'helper' is and what capabilities they have... then I am sorry, I, Augus, will never risk my own life and the future of the entire team on such an unclear adventure!"

His words were like throwing a huge boulder onto a calm lake surface.

Immediately, several members spoke up in agreement: "That's right! Guild Leader, at least let us know who we are actually waiting for, right?"

"What kind of ability makes you think it can bridge our huge gap from before?"

"Without even knowing their identity and ability, how can we be at ease entrusting our backs to a stranger?"

Voices of doubt rose one after another, and the atmosphere at the scene instantly became somewhat tense and restless. Everyone's gaze was fixed tightly on Shen Yanshan, waiting for his reply.