Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Final Preparations
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Nineteen days remained until the Guild Challenge Tournament. After a brief cleanup of the guild, Jiang Kai closed the guild gates the next day and returned to King's Valley to level up.
At the same time, Huang Tong received news that Jiang Kai had established a new guild—the Lord God Guild.
"Jiang Kai actually dares to create a guild? Is he afraid I'll ignore him?" Huang Tong snorted coldly, but after a moment's thought, a sneer formed on his lips. "Old Four, it seems that guy is planning to participate in the Guild Challenge Tournament."
The white-robed man chuckled. "Looks like last time, although Huang Da failed to kill his sister, he did successfully provoke him."
Huang Tong smiled faintly. "His trump card is only 'Chasing Nine Tribulations.' This time, the rewards include a second-tier Chasing Nine Tribulations. Plus, with his sister's incident, even if that brat knows we've set a trap for him, he'll still come."
"By the way, how's the equipment preparation against Jiang Kai going?"
The white-robed man immediately reported, "Second Brother, that batch of equipment has been fully enhanced. The defense has reached the level of third-tier, second or third grade. Additionally, each squad has two shield-bearers specifically to counter his throwing knives."
"Also, Huang Da's new equipment has already been tested. We guarantee it'll give Jiang Kai a huge 'surprise'."
Huang Tong nodded. "Right, there's a Martial Disciple in that Fire God Squad, supposedly from the military and childhood friends with Jiang Kai. His strength isn't bad."
The white-robed man responded, "We've already investigated. That Yuan Zhu does have rare potential. Otherwise, the military wouldn't have recruited him outside the usual process. But his combat rating is only E-level."
"There are many people with high potential, but talent doesn't decide everything. If you can't utilize it, then it's meaningless."
Huang Tong snorted. "Exactly! An E-rated Martial Disciple is just a waste. Add a Feng Shui master who only knows how to pray for rain, a drunkard who can't tell north from south, and a barefoot doctor who can't fight... Hmph, Jiang Kai's squad is nothing but a bunch of misfits."
"Where's Huang Da?"
"He's still training, Second Brother. He said this time there won't be any mistakes. He'll make sure Jiang Kai is dead."
A sinister smile curled on Huang Tong's lips. "Good. Huang Da can be considered invincible below second-tier. Combined with his squad, that kid is not underestimating his enemy, which is rare."
"Indeed," the white-robed man agreed. "This time, he'll erase Jiang Kai and the Fire God Squad from Ghost Star completely."
"One last thing—are we certain our squad will encounter him early? We can't let someone else steal the kill." Huang Tong sneered.
The white-robed man smirked confidently. "We've already arranged it through Chuangrui. His first match will be against our people."
"Which squad?"
"Of course, it's Huang Da's squad." The white-robed man grinned. "Huang Da has been shouting every day about avenging his grudge."
———
Two days later, Su Nuannuan reached Level 20.
With Jiang Kai and the others guarding her, she successfully completed her job advancement.
The second-tier job for a Barefoot Doctor was "Physician," but her second talent was rather unique.
"'Three Parts Poison.' Each level-up grants an additional 1 point to Physique and 2 points to Spirit. Potion effectiveness increases by 10%, while poison effectiveness increases by 50%. Sensitivity to toxins in substances increases by 30%..." Su Nuannuan frowned. "It's actually 'Three Parts Poison'... I got an elite talent?"
Hu Yan asked curiously, "This is an elite talent? Aside from the extra stats, it seems more beneficial for poisoning. Are you going down a poison route?"
Su Nuannuan shook her head. "Not necessarily."
"My first talent, 'Divine Hands of Medicine,' increases potion effectiveness by 30%. Now with 'Three Parts Poison,' even though it only adds 10%, together they provide a 40% boost."
"Also, the talent description mentions enhancing toxin perception, which includes medicinal herbs. As the saying goes, 'Medicine is three parts poison.' With this talent, I can remove those 'three parts poison' during potion-making, further improving their effects."
"This means healing potions will also be enhanced."
Hearing Nuannuan's explanation, the group finally understood—so 'Three Parts Poison' could be used this way.
With this, Su Nuannuan's healing abilities had greatly improved, and she now had the potential to use poison as well.
Yuan Zhu asked, "Nuannuan, how rare is it for a Physician to get a poison-related talent?"
"About three in a thousand." Su Nuannuan beamed. "I didn't expect to get this talent—this is great."
Jiang Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone's job advancements had turned out well… except for Ruan Yu. His case was still a bit uncertain.
"Alright, now that you're all at second-tier, let's continue leveling up." Jiang Kai said. "Many of our opponents in this tournament are strong teams that deliberately stayed at Level 20 to compete for rankings. We can't afford to slack off."
Yuan Zhu and the others nodded. Ever since their encounter with Falcon Squad Four, they had realized that this tournament would be filled with hidden powerhouses.
At second-tier, each level-up granted at least 20 additional stat points—a huge boost.
For the next two weeks, Jiang Kai led his squad through King's Valley, hunting down warlord-class beasts.
The team's levels rose rapidly.
Two weeks later, with only three days left until the Guild Challenge Tournament, they finished hunting the last pack of warlord-class forest wolves and prepared to return to the main city.
After days of grinding, Yuan Zhu had reached Level 5, Nuannuan Level 4, Hu Yan Level 11, and Ruan Yu Level 5.
The only one unchanged was Jiang Kai—still stuck at Level 20.
For second-tier players, attribute gains per level were higher, but the required experience was also much greater. For example, reaching Level 6 required 85,000 experience, while Level 10 required 180,000. From Level 11 to Level 20, every level required 180,000 experience.
No wonder Hu Yan, despite spending years in Destiny's Calling, was only at Level 10.
Still, considering each level granted 20 stat points, aside from Jiang Kai and Hu Yan, everyone in Fire God Squad had seen tremendous growth.
Of course, Jiang Kai and Hu Yan hadn't been idle either—Hu Yan had swapped to a full second-tier gear set, significantly boosting his combat power.
But time was up. They couldn't grind any longer.
Jiang Kai led the squad back to the main city.
Two days later, upon returning to the Lord God Guild's base, Jiang Kai activated the public screen and found the tournament registration section.
He quickly selected "Guild Registration" to confirm the Lord God Guild's participation. Then, he selected "Squad Tournament" and "Captain Registration." Once the system verified his captain status, he proceeded to register for the "Second-Tier Squad Tournament."
A pop-up appeared.
[Fire God Squad is enrolling in the 36th Guild Challenge Tournament, Second-Tier Squad Event. Confirm?]
Jiang Kai narrowed his eyes and turned to his teammates.
Yuan Zhu, Nuannuan, Hu Yan, and Ruan Yu all gave him firm nods.
Jiang Kai smiled slightly, turned back, and pressed "Confirm."
New information appeared on the screen.
[Lord God - Fire God Squad meets the registration requirements. Registration successful. Your squad has been placed in Group F, with 32 teams in total—16 from Alpha Zone, 14 from Beta Zone, and 2 from Gamma Zone. One team will qualify for the final 16 of District 18.]
[Group stage matches: one per day.]
[F Group matchups are randomly drawn. Your first opponent is "Instant Kill Squad" from the Black Tortoise Guild. Captain: Huang Da.]
[Your squad must arrive at the western main city arena by 8 AM tomorrow to compete.]
Jiang Kai narrowed his eyes.
First match against Huang Da? Was this fate, or Black Tortoise Guild's handiwork?
Either way, he seemed to be looking forward to this match even more than Huang Da.
"Huang Da… Good. I'll settle the score for Yingzi—with interest!"
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