57: Chapter 57 A Sword Cuts Out a World Announcement

At the entrance to the Wailing Valley.

The excitement here had long since faded.

Only a few Adventurers who genuinely wanted to grind the dungeon remained.

They were forming small groups of three or five, or hawking freshly dropped equipment.

The air was permeated with a sense of dullness and tedium.

"Damn it, another pile of junk. The drop rate is too low."

A Warlock who had just emerged from the dungeon cursed as he tossed several white-grade items onto the ground.

"Be content. At least there's experience. Otherwise, how will you level up?" his companion, a Warrior, grumbled.

"Sigh, when will we be like that super tycoon, treating dungeon runs like a stroll in the park..."

Before the words even finished, a commotion erupted in the distance.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the sound.

On the horizon, a white blur rushed toward them at an unreasonably fast speed, kicking up clouds of dust.

That distinctive massive silhouette, that snowy white appearance tinged with a hint of the ridiculous, and the golden bell around its neck...

"It's... It's him!"

"That big shot!"

"He's back! What is he doing here? Does he still need the Normal Mode dungeon?"

The area instantly fell silent.

All gazes, mixed with awe, curiosity, greed, and confusion, focused entirely on that figure.

Chen You landed gracefully. His ascension daoist robe fluttered without wind, and spiritual energy swirled around him, making him look like an immortal banished to the mortal realm.

He didn't even spare the surrounding Adventurers a glance.

His goal was very clear.

Under everyone's watch, Chen You walked step by step, directly toward the ancient wooden plaque beside the dungeon entrance.

This time, no one was blocking the way.

The plaque was inscribed with the dungeon's introduction:

[Wailing Valley (LV10 - LV15)]

[Description: A former ancient battlefield where the grievances of countless soldiers converged, forming terrifying vengeful spirits...]

The players were utterly bewildered.

"What... What is he looking at on the plaque?"

"Could there be a hidden quest on this wooden plaque?"

"No way, I've licked it clean, and there wasn't any reaction!"

A Goblin player muttered quietly.

In the crowd, an elite player from the Moon Gods Radiance guild immediately reported in real-time to Yue Ying, who was far away in the city.

"Guild Master, he's back... He's looking at the plaque describing the dungeon. His actions are very strange."

Just as everyone thought Chen You was about to uncover some earth-shattering secret, he moved.

"Zheng—"

A clear, crisp sword chime echoed.

Chen You drew his dao sword.

As the dao sword left its sheath, its blade resembled a pool of clear autumn water, yet under the gloomy light of the Wailing Valley, it radiated a cold, bright glow.

The runes engraved on the ascension daoist robe flickered faintly as Chen You's spiritual power surged, mirroring the glow of the dao sword.

His entire being seemed to become a source of light.

The surrounding players held their breath.

"He drew his sword! What is he going to do?"

"Is the big shot finally going to make a move? Could this plaque be some hidden BOSS?"

"Impossible, right? I even peed on it last week, and nothing happened!" retorted a Kobold.

The Goblin player who claimed to have licked the plaque instantly widened his beady green eyes and glared at the Kobold.

At the back of the crowd, the elite player from Moon Gods Radiance had already synchronized everything he saw with Yue Ying in Zhao City.

Yue Ying sat on her luxurious chair, her delicate eyebrows tightly furrowed.

"Looking at the plaque? Drawing his sword?"

She could not comprehend Chen You's logic at all.

Just as everyone's confusion and speculation reached its peak, Chen You moved.

There was no flashy starting pose, no complex sword technique.

It was the simplest, most direct action.

Swing the sword, chop down!

The ascension dao sword in his hand carved a visible white air current through the air.

Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound as it cut through the air, it fiercely struck the ancient, weather-beaten wooden plaque!

"Crack—!"

A crisp sound.

Under the stunned gaze of everyone, the dungeon plaque that had stood there for who knows how many years shattered instantly!

Wood splinters flew everywhere, exploding outward.

"Holy crap!"

"He... He chopped down the dungeon sign?!"

"Is he insane? Vandalizing public property?"

"What on earth is he trying to do?!"

The group of Adventurers erupted instantly.

There was shock, there was anger, but more prevalent was an absurd sense of bewilderment.

You could play like that?

However, the very next second, everyone's voices caught in their throats.

The sky had changed.

Above the Wailing Valley, which had merely been overcast, the wind suddenly rose and clouds churned without warning!

Thick black clouds, like boiling ink, furiously rolled and converged, forming a massive, slowly rotating vortex.

In the center of the vortex, dark red lightning snaked around like dragons and snakes, emitting a terrifying "sizzling" sound.

A heart-palpitating pressure descended from the heavens, enveloping the entire dungeon entrance.

All players, regardless of level, felt a soul-deep tremor under this heavenly might, their legs went weak, and they nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Wh-what's happening to the sky?"

"Is this... a world event?"

Just as everyone was terrified to the extreme, a dark red lightning bolt, as thick as a water bucket, suddenly struck down from the center of the cloud vortex!

Its target was not Chen You, nor any other player.

It was the pile of shattered remnants of the wooden plaque!

"Boom!!!"

The lightning struck the ground, but instead of a deafening roar, it was eerily silent.

The dark red light burst open, forming a massive light shield that completely enveloped that area.

Countless broken wood fragments were drawn by an invisible force within the red light, floating up as if imbued with life.

They spun rapidly, reassembling, intertwined with wisps of dark red electric light.

A brand-new wooden plaque slowly materialized within the red glow.

It was larger than before, and its entire surface possessed a dim, blood-like color.

On the face of the plaque, the ancient characters were no longer mere carvings; they looked as if they were written in flowing fresh blood, exuding an ominous and violent aura.

[Wailing Valley (LV10 - LV15)]

[Description: A former ancient battlefield where the grievances of countless soldiers converged, forming terrifying vengeful spirits...]

Below this basic information, two new lines of blood-red text had appeared at the very bottom.

[Destruction Mode has been activated.]

[Destroyer: Chen You]

The red light dissipated, and the thunderclouds vanished.

The sky returned to normal, as if the world-shattering scene just moments ago had been an illusion.

But the blood-colored plaque exuding an ominous aura, and the glaring name inscribed upon it, told everyone—

The world was different now.

The scene was dead silent.

All the players looked as if they had been petrified, staring blankly at the plaque, then at the figure standing there holding his sword, his daoist robe flowing, their minds completely blank.

So... you could play like that?

What did Destruction Mode mean?

Just as the Adventurers on site were processing this earth-shattering change, an even heavier bomb detonated over the entire 'Source Realm'.

A golden system announcement, covering the vision of all main cities, all maps, and all players, appeared out of thin air!

[World Announcement]

[Player 'Chen You' has successfully activated Destruction Mode for the dungeon 'Wailing Valley'! As the activator, his name will be permanently inscribed upon the boundary marker of this dungeon!]

['Destruction Mode' is a high-difficulty challenge mode. Monster strength and numbers will be greatly increased, making completion extremely difficult.]

[However, the drop rewards are exceptionally generous, with an extremely low chance of yielding special items.]

[This mode can only be challenged once per day, and all players may enter as a team.]