15: Ascend to Cloud Dragon City, Clown Artist

The class-exclusive A-rank Halberd Technique could only be used by Shameless Cao Thief, while the two hidden quests could be applied to all novice players.

Shameless Cao Thief asked Lin Du to name a price, but Lin Du couldn't think of a reasonable price for the moment.

In the half year since Lin Du transmigrated to Ancestral Star, he had rarely come into contact with lifespan value and didn't have much of a concept for it.

"When we traded the A-rank Halberd Technique earlier, you felt my asking price was too high, so why don't you name the price for these two hidden quests?" Lin Du pushed this difficult problem onto Shameless Cao Thief.

A flash of cunning amusement crossed Shameless Cao Thief's eyes.

"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony with you."

"After all, these are two novice quests, so their value is relatively limited. I am willing to pay 100 years of lifespan value to purchase them; what do you think?"

This price of 100 years of lifespan value was far from Lin Du's target.

Considering how Shameless Cao Thief had quoted the price for the A-rank Halberd Technique earlier, Lin Du pondered for a moment and replied, "100 years of lifespan value is simply too low. I might consider 1000 years of lifespan value."

Hearing Lin Du ask for 1000 years of lifespan value, Shameless Cao Thief's gaze gradually turned cold.

"Kid, your appetite is a bit too big. Do you know what 1000 years of lifespan value means?"

Lin Du shook his head. "I don't know what 1000 years of lifespan value means, but I do know that if you can't give me this price, I won't make the trade."

Upon hearing this, a dangerous light flashed in Shameless Cao Thief's eyes.

"This place is deserted; aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Lin Du laughed. Under the movement of his facial muscles, the clown mask revealed a ferocious smile.

"Sorry, my novice protection period hasn't expired yet."

"Whether now or in the future, you will never have any chance to kill me. Do you want to try?"

Lin Du's eerie tone, combined with the evil clown mask, suddenly made Shameless Cao Thief feel a strange sense of danger.

The air froze.

After a while, it was Shameless Cao Thief who broke the deadlock.

"Hahaha, you kid certainly have guts!" Shameless Cao Thief chuckled to hide his embarrassment.

"However, a quote of 1000 years of lifespan value is still a bit too high. 500 years of lifespan value and we can make the deal right now!"

These two hidden quests in the Novice Village were mainly for novice players, so a price of 500 years of lifespan value wasn't too low.

Furthermore, if the trade failed today, Lin Du worried that Shameless Cao Thief would spread the news that he possessed the two hidden quests in the Novice Village, which would lead to endless trouble for Lin Du.

To be safe, Lin Du ultimately chose to trade with Shameless Cao Thief.

Lin Du told Shameless Cao Thief the detailed information about the two hidden quests. When Shameless Cao Thief heard that Old Mrs. Liu and the blacksmith were having an affair, his eye twitched, and he subconsciously looked at Lin Du twice more.

"No wonder I could never accept the blacksmith's quest. It turns out there was such a shady secret hidden inside!"

"Oh blacksmith, blacksmith, you wouldn't even let a 70-year-old woman off the hook. I don't know which weirdo designed such a moronic plot..."

After receiving the 500 years of lifespan value, Lin Du left with a dark face.

Before parting ways, Shameless Cao Thief proactively added Lin Du as a friend, claiming that they should continue to cooperate if there were opportunities in the future.

...

After trading with Shameless Cao Thief twice, the lifespan value on the back of Lin Du's hand became 515-01-11-12.

515 years, 1 month, 11 days, and 12 hours.

With this, Lin Du had escaped the ranks of the impoverished.

Although 515 years of lifespan value could not be considered sudden wealth, it was enough to splurge for a while...

Lin Du hurried back to the Blacksmith Shop in the Novice Village to turn in the quest.

"Blacksmith, I've brought you the 10 meteorites you wanted."

[Ding!]

[You have completed the blacksmith's hidden quest: Collect 10 extraterrestrial meteorites]

[Reward: experience value + 4288, lifespan value + 10.5 hours, All-Round Blacksmith recommendation letter]

[Triggered heart of the goddess of luck, rewards doubled!!]

Whew—

The heart of the goddess of luck triggered again, and two dazzling golden lights flashed across Lin Du's body in succession.

His level jumped from 90% experience value at level 8 to level 10.

[Player]: Night Ember

[Level]: Level 10 (1%)

[Sequence Class]: Clown (Sequence 999)

[Active Skill]: Rapid Triple Strike (F-rank), Clown Slash (F-rank)

[Passive Skill]: heart of the goddess of luck (SSS-rank)

After reaching level 10, Lin Du could finally leave the Novice Village and head to the main city.

Lin Du's heart became fiery; after arriving at the main city, the Thief God's Diamond Hand in his backpack could finally be put to use.

Whether the Sequence 999 class Clown could undergo a change would depend on the performance of the Thief God's Diamond Hand next...

Lin Du came to the Novice Village Teleportation Array, spent 10 days of lifespan value, and successfully teleported to the main city, Yunlong City.

Yunlong City was one of the eight main cities of the Shenlong Empire. It gathered countless players, and all kinds of facilities were available.

The moment Lin Du stepped out of the Teleportation Array, a familiar feeling rushed toward him.

Yunlong City was the last main city designed by Lin Du before he transmigrated, so his impression of it was particularly deep.

Following the memory in his mind, Lin Du hurried toward the city center of Yunlong City.

Along the way, Lin Du kept observing the buildings and shops on both sides of the street. The buildings in Yunlong City were almost no different from what he had designed before.

From pharmacies, weapon shops, pet shops, and mount shops to mercenary guilds, auction houses, land sales halls, teahouses, and restaurants...

As long as it was something players needed, Yunlong City had it all.

...

After walking for more than an hour, Lin Du arrived at the entrance of a large colosseum.

The colosseum was located in the city center of Yunlong City, covered a huge area, and was one of the most popular entertainment venues in Yunlong City.

The colosseum was a very intense place where one could see demonic beasts fighting demonic beasts, demonic beasts fighting humans, and even humans fighting humans...

This colosseum had a very resounding name.

Resounding Colosseum!

When Lin Du walked to the entrance of the colosseum, he was stopped by a staff member.

"Hello customer, the beast-fighting performance inside has already started!"

"Please buy a ticket to enter!"

Lin Du spent 5 days of lifespan value to purchase a front-row seat ticket.

When he entered the inside of the colosseum, the seats were basically full of people, and an exciting beast-fighting performance was taking place on the stage.

The two parties in the performance were a Red-Eyed Wild Bull with a build like a small tank, and a bright silver two-headed giant python.

The battle on the stage seemed to have been a stalemate for a long time; both the Red-Eyed Wild Bull and the two-headed silver python were covered in blood, and the two were entangled together, biting each other for their lives.

The bull horns on the Red-Eyed Wild Bull's head emitted an eerie red light, easily piercing into the body of the two-headed silver python like an electric drill.

The two-headed silver python was not to be outdone; its thick body was tightly wrapped around the Red-Eyed Wild Bull's body. As the snake body contracted, one could clearly see the Red-Eyed Wild Bull's body deforming, and faintly hear the "crack, crack" sound of bones breaking.

Both beasts displayed the most primitive, most savage, and most bloody way of fighting.

The atmosphere at the scene was pushed to its peak by the performance of the two beasts on the stage!

Overwhelming shouts and cheers echoed inside the colosseum, and many players at the scene were excitedly waving their fists.

Soon, the match on the stage was decided.

The two-headed silver python found an opportunity and suddenly wrapped around the Red-Eyed Wild Bull's neck. The snake body contracted violently, and the Red-Eyed Wild Bull's neck was forcibly snapped by the two-headed silver python...

"Dear audience members!"

"The match between the Red-Eyed Wild Bull and the two-headed silver python has ended. The winner is the two-headed silver python. Audience members who guessed the result correctly, please proceed to the settlement counter to collect your prizes."

"Everyone has finished the appetizers; next up is the finale performance of the year!"

"The two parties in the performance are—"

"The human thousand-win champion of the Resounding Colosseum—Clown Artist!"

"The ancient ferocious beast of the Resounding Colosseum that hasn't tasted defeat in ten years—Red Flame Golden Lion Beast!"

The host's voice echoed throughout the colosseum, and a "rumbling" sound came from the gates on both sides of the colosseum.

The gates opened, and two figures, one large and one small, arrived at the center of the colosseum.

The larger one was a lion-type demonic beast that was supreme and had an earth-shattering aura; this demonic beast was the Red Flame Golden Lion Beast.

The Red Flame Golden Lion Beast was seven or eight meters long, bathed in golden flames all over its body, and had a pair of gorgeous golden wings on its back.

The Red Flame Golden Lion Beast's body was sturdy and powerful, covered with a layer of shimmering golden scales, and its whole body was filled with a terrifying, world-destroying aura.

Just from its appearance, one could tell that this Red Flame Golden Lion Beast was definitely a terrifying demonic beast with explosive combat power and a ferocious temperament!

In comparison, the Red Flame Golden Lion Beast's opponent seemed very inconspicuous.

Standing opposite the Red Flame Golden Lion Beast was a human wearing a black cloak and a black and white clown mask on his face.

Clown Artist's hands were always in the pockets of his trousers, looking gentlemanly and elegant, which was the exact opposite of the ferocious appearance of the Red Flame Golden Lion Beast opposite him.

"Dear audience members, please get ready."

"The performance officially begins!"