346: Chapter 346 This is all I can do to help you.

Zhong Bukui charged in and out of the crowd of players, the sound of incessant slapping filling the air.

"Brothers, I've analyzed the mechanics!" The warlock wearing the pointed hat began shouting at the top of his lungs in the crowd again.

"He has an internal CD for hitting people! He can only slap away ten people at most at once!"

"We need to arrange a formation and take damage in batches... No, wait, take turns absorbing damage! That way we can ensure the singing doesn't stop!"

Hearing this, the players were suddenly enlightened and quickly organized themselves.

"When you see injustice, you let out a roar—"

"Slap!" A dozen shield warriors were sent flying into the sky, shields and all.

"When it's time to act, you act—"

"Bang!" Another group of mages turned into shooting stars.

Surprisingly, however, the players attacked by Zhong Bukui did not disappear in white light.

They merely lost the ability to move, as if they had been hit by some kind of crowd control effect.

"Holy crap! No HP loss!" A sharp-eyed ranger's eyes widened, then he became ecstatic, "This boss is a paper tiger! He has no attack power; it's all crowd control skills!"

"Brothers! Charge! For God You! For the Source Realm!"

Zhong Bukui looked at the queue in front of him, which was neatly arranged and even pushing each other to grab front-row spots, a brief moment of confusion appearing in his bell-sized eyes.

"Why are you all so cooperative?!" He slapped a ranger who was singing off-key into the ground.

The ranger, with most of his body buried in the dirt and foaming at the mouth, stubbornly gave a thumbs up, "God You... I tried my best..."

In the pile of rocks, Chen You watched the system panel.

[Yellow Springs Yin-Gathering Formation concentration progress: 89%]

[Yellow Springs Yin-Gathering Formation concentration progress: 95%]

Almost there.

Chen You silently clenched his fists.

The imagination and execution ability of this group of players was simply absurd; they had forcibly turned a sacrificial formation into an assembly line operation.

When a paladin sang "Storming Through the Nine Provinces" at the top of his lungs and was kicked flying by Zhong Bukui, leaving a long trailing note in mid-air, the number on the panel finally jumped to 100%.

Full!

Chen You was just about to stand up and call a halt.

However, the number on the panel jumped again.

[Yellow Springs Essence concentration progress: 101%]

Chen You was stunned.

He rubbed his eyes, confirming he hadn't misread it.

The number was still jumping up.

105%... 112%... 130%...

Chen You couldn't help but frown.

This didn't make sense.

In a normal game quest, once the progress bar is full, it triggers the next step of the plot.

Why was this thing endless?

He suddenly recalled the analysis from the expert group earlier.

The cultivation system power he used in the game was not something granted to him out of thin air by the Source Realm system.

That power originally existed within his body.

The Source Realm, or rather this game system, merely acted as an "awakener."

It was helping Chen You "awaken" his own power through some specific medium.

And this medium was very likely: money.

huaxia coin.

To complete the Foundation Establishment quest, hatch that Big Yellow Duck, and the absurd Yellow Springs swimming relay race.

The money he had poured in, converted to real-world currency, was already an astronomical figure.

Chen You watched Zhong Bukui outputting crazily in the crowd.

Now, the progress was far beyond 100%.

Did this mean... besides money, there were other mediums that could break the established limit?

In the crowd, Zhong Bukui had gone on a killing spree.

"Slap, slap, slap, slap!"

The crisp sound of slaps rose and fell, like the hundred-thousand-firecracker strings set off during the New Year.

Over fifty thousand players were forcibly turned into a large-scale performance art exhibition by his slaps.

Some were punched in the stomach and hung like shrimp on the protrusions of the city wall.

Some were kicked flying, just happening to dive headfirst into an ice hole, leaving only their butts swaying in the wind outside.

There were even a dozen players slapped into mid-air to collide with each other, landing in an extremely standard human pyramid pose, all of them stuck in a frozen state.

Yet, this group of players was caught in some kind of fanatical self-admiration.

"Hold on! His movements have slowed down!" A paladin shouted at the top of his lungs.

"When it's time to act, you act! Ouch, holy crap..." A mage had just raised his staff when he was slapped into the ground, staff and all, by Zhong Bukui.

The Big Yellow Duck squatted next to Chen You, stretching its neck to watch this spectacular scene.

The progress bar skyrocketed.

1000%... 3000%... 7000%...

Chen You was already numb.

If he could, he would even want to buy a bag of melon seeds and watch while snacking.

A full half-hour passed.

Less than one-tenth of the players remained standing outside the city gate.

The number on the system panel finally stopped jumping.

[Yellow Springs Essence concentration progress: 10000%]

[Ding! Yellow Springs Yin-Gathering Formation operation complete.]

[Detected sufficient extraction of Pure Yang Qi, beginning to concentrate Yellow Springs Essence.]

Boom!

A low roar exploded without warning.

This sound did not belong to the explosion of any magical elements, but carried an ancient, vast, and prehistoric charm, as if it came from the dawn of the universe.

"Quack!" The Big Yellow Duck was startled, its golden feathers standing on end.

It fluttered its wings to hide behind a large rock, poking out half its head to peer cautiously.

The entire formation erupted with a blinding dark golden light.

The light turned into a pillar of light that connected heaven and earth, shooting straight into the sky, instantly evaporating the snow filling the air.

Zhong Bukui stood at the edge of the light pillar, his chest heaving violently.

The folding fan in his hand had long been reduced to just a bare fan bone, and his large red robe was covered in ice chips and dust.

He turned around and looked at Chen You in the pile of rubble.

Chen You's heart skipped a beat.

This old guy wouldn't still be unsatisfied and planning to use him to round off the count, would he?

He silently gripped the hilt of the yuhuang sword, ready to run at any moment.

However, the rage, irritability, and madness on Zhong Bukui's face receded like a tide the moment he turned around.

In their place was an extremely deep, calm gaze, even carrying a hint of vicissitudes.

That look did not look like a grumpy NPC who had been woken up with morning grumpiness at all.

It was more like a deity who had experienced eternity and seen through the vicissitudes of the world.

Zhong Bukui casually threw away the fan bone in his hand and brushed the dust off his hands.

He took large strides and walked up to Chen You.

Chen You swallowed a mouthful of saliva and gave a dry laugh.

"Uh, True Lord, thank you for your hard work."

"I didn't sing, I'm tone-deaf, and I'm a patient..."

Zhong Bukui ignored Chen You's wisecracks.

He looked down at Chen You from a high position, his gaze sweeping over Chen You.

Chen You was shocked.

This gaze reminded him of the Second Son of the Heavenly God summoned by the immortals throne back then.

After five seconds of silence, Zhong Bukui sighed.

"I can only help you this much."

His voice was no longer the deafening roar from before.

It had become low and hoarse, revealing an indescribable fatigue.

Chen You was stunned.

"Huh?"