Chapter 40: Return to the Theme, In Pursuit of Legend

… It turned out that those places occupied by Memory Stones had been bought up by players at high prices using team coins, though some were unwilling to give them up. Although a small memory tree could only produce between a few dozen and a hundred stones a day, even that could yield a thousand to ten thousand team coins. Yet in the early days, earning a hundred team coins in a day was rare; those mining tirelessly for scraps could never compare to those who merely managed the sites and lived comfortably. With earnings more than ten times greater, would they be willing to share? Those players who bought the land couldn't be too brazen either, fearing they'd be reported—after all, in this world, lives were infinite.

So these players would buy out the plots from ignorant newcomers, sometimes for as little as thirty thousand team coins or even less. It was a guaranteed profit. If the tree was large… they would immediately use their own team coins to buy up every available plot, and within three days, relying on Memory Stones, amass three hundred thousand team coins or even more, becoming Memory Stone tycoons.

But not long after, some players caught on to these tactics or realized they'd been swindled. They made a fuss, but it was useless—the system's exchanges were irreversible. Soon, everyone began to boycott him, yet his actions were remembered by some. Since this was a game with infinite lives, those who were dissatisfied took action—ambushes and sneak attacks became commonplace.

…

When she saw that they'd strayed from the main topic, Han Qianyun stopped them with a single sentence, and they set back to work on their tasks.

“There’s still the Mermaid’s Tears! No need to get stuck on one thing.”

Afterwards, those victorious players, carrying tens of thousands of Memory Stones, went to find those who had once obtained the Mermaid’s Tears. Once he left, the undying players attacked his Memory Tree again, stealing openly in broad daylight.

“As long as you help me find them, I’ll give you fifty thousand team coins.”

The man agreed without hesitation. Five days later, he resurrected in the main city’s resurrection hall, holding twenty thousand drops of Mermaid’s Tears. He handed over the fifty thousand team coins to that player, then took his million team coins to the warehouse to purchase nearly all the rewards, only to discover that a million wasn’t such a fortune after all. Gazing at a set of purple gear, he cried out in surprise.

Han Qianyun knew about his exploits, and knowing that once was never enough, decided to lower the team coin rewards for the Mermaid’s Tears quest even further, pushing him to despair.

A recruitment quest was issued.

Player Quest: Find a Craftsman

Requirements: None. Novice Craftsman, Intermediate Craftsman, Advanced Craftsman, Master Craftsman, Grandmaster Craftsman, Professional Craftsman, Corpse-hunter Craftsman. (Advanced and above must stay in the city for at least three years.)

Duration: Permanent

Rewards: For the first three months, crafting training is free. Minimum monthly team coin stipend, as follows:
Novice Craftsman: 10,000 team coins/month
Intermediate Craftsman: 20,000 team coins/month
Advanced Craftsman: 50,000 team coins/month
Master Craftsman: 100,000 team coins/month
Grandmaster Craftsman: 500,000 team coins/month
Professional Craftsman: 2,000,000 team coins/month
Corpse-hunter Craftsman: 10,000,000 team coins/month

Whatever the team requires must be done; when idle, you may help others craft for extra earnings.

She also adjusted the previous quest, for in the beginning, she’d underestimated the abundance of Memory Stones and set the price at one hundred team coins per stone. Now, all Memory Trees were recorded before the new task was published.

Player Quest: Collect Memory Stones

Requirements:
1. Large, numerous trees
2. Medium trees
3. Small trees

Before claiming rewards, declare which numbered tree you harvested from; any violation results in immediate confiscation.

Duration: Permanent (can be claimed repeatedly)

Rewards:
1. 3.3 team coins per stone (large, numerous trees)
2. 20 team coins per stone (medium trees)
3. 100 team coins per stone (small trees)

Player Quest: Guard the Mermaid’s Tears

Requirements: Protection mission. You may form a party to travel to the Endless Sea to trade with merfolk for the Mermaid’s Tears. The one being escorted must provide the reward. You must go if you accept the quest—if not, pay tenfold compensation. Robbery is forbidden.

Duration: Permanent (repeatable)

Rewards: 2,000 team coins per day; after one month, 10,000 team coins per day

Quest: Find the Mermaid’s Tears

Requirements: The more Mermaid’s Tears, the more team coins

Duration: Permanent (repeatable)

Rewards: 300 team coins per drop; 4,000,000 team coins for 10,000 drops; 50,000,000 team coins for 100,000 drops [unlimited claims]

Looking at these newly issued quests, though the minor changes seemed insignificant, it prevented stockpiling. If anyone was found hoarding, the entire batch would be counted as coming from large, numerous trees at the lower rate. Small teams rejoiced, while large teams could no longer compound their profits, but no one dared complain openly.

Thus, the Memory Stone and Mermaid’s Tears incident passed into history…

In the team, the highest-ranking craftsman was soon promoted to Advanced and received fifty thousand team coins. Han Qianyun promised everyone that, should anyone reach the rank of Professional Craftsman, she would hand over her two Intermediate Captains to them.

She then entrusted several hundred thousand Memory Stones and a similar quantity of Mermaid’s Tears to the original Grandmaster Craftsman. For a month, he worked overtime deep into the night, only to rise and continue forging at dawn. Each day, Han Qianyun received a hundred Starfire Stones, and after much hesitation, decided to list them in Han City’s only auction.

The date was set for half a month later, on the seventh day of each month. At the opening, ten players would be drawn to receive ten Starfire Stones each.

…

Han Qianyun and her companions then set about enhancing their equipment, skills, and pets, pushing the tool dragon Hua Jie to its limits.

Since its poison attacks were lethal, other players would either evade or flee, for a single hit after a hundred seconds meant instant death. It inherited its master’s fortune, causing good equipment, skills, and pets to drop as if they were falling stars.

As long as it was fed, it worked harder than anyone for ten Starfire Stones.

…

In the days that followed, once all of Han City learned the true value of the Starfire Stones, the news spread wildly throughout both the game and the real world. Previously, players who had quit due to poor skills found their passion rekindled, for now everyone had a chance to participate and shed their outdated abilities.

Once players across the continent grasped the Stones’ significance, they all longed to visit—or pillage—Han City.

It was only then that they understood the power of Han City’s defensive fortifications…

When Han Qianyun announced that Han City would be holding an auction, every major team and guild began to scheme. Though they could host their own auctions, none had a truly show-stopping item; if they did, it would be an embarrassment. Moreover, cities not recognized by the main city could not establish an official auction, and as for guilds seeking city-level privileges, players could do as they pleased, but if a siege event occurred, the main city would not intervene.

But Han City was now the only small city officially recognized by the main city. What set them apart was their product—an item that guaranteed forgetting and relearning skills, empowering skill upgrades, and boasting a 100% success rate.

Though not the very best, for players who had chosen the wrong skills, it was a priceless treasure. Who didn’t long for world-shattering abilities? Its potential value was unknown, but it was enough to put it in the top hundred items. Of the top hundred, this one alone could be fully revealed. Of the top fifty, all were void-grade items, and this was among them, proving that a void-grade belt existed in the world, not just in legend.

What was void-grade? The highest known level—one piece was nearly equivalent to void-grade equipment. And now they were giving away ten, meaning ten pieces of void-grade gear.

With this in mind, those teams and guilds that had never clashed with the Han Crown Team eagerly consigned their valuables to the imminent auction.

Only two teams were truly anxious: the Divine Judgment Team and the Han Yu Team.

Because they had aimed for the pro league, from the very start they had thrown everything into currying favor with the Han Crown Team. Now, with the auction at hand, other guilds and teams would surely give them face. But if other teams saw this… just Blood Sea Team alone would be enough to make them suffer, and if that team joined forces with Han Qianyun, who already had deep grievances with them, she might well wipe them out and count it as a favor.

“Brother Ye Jiu, what are we going to do now? Three pro players from Blood Sea Team have led their players to block us in. Our two teams’ highest level is only thirty, while Liu Tao on their side is already thirty-five, and their vice-captain is thirty-six.”

“What can I do? Blood Sea’s top two don’t even acknowledge us, and they’ve assigned some players to block us in the main city. In personal mode, our gear can only kill small monsters, and higher-level gear never drops. Against high-level players, all we can do is die and respawn in the main city. The only way to form large parties is in group mode, but then nothing drops. If we attack them first, they’re allowed to siege us without penalty. Outside, they’re always in other parties, so we have to sneak out in secret.”

“Han Yu, don’t gloat over my misfortune. If I go down, how many days do you think you’ll last with your strength? They’re all warriors, you’re all paladins; you’re hard-countered from the start. You’re still at beginner level—humph! They don’t even need special skills to slaughter you.”

Within Blood Sea Team’s Blood Sea City—

“Liu Tao, Divine Judgment and Han Yu Teams are both holed up in Sacred City now. The city’s defenses are weak, but our siege engines are limited. I have a siege order, but we need to save those engines for other battles…”

“Fight? Fight whom? You tell me. Should we attack Han City? Take a look at their defenses. Even if we tried, tell me—who would deal with the level 7 or 8 wild monsters? You? Or Li Tian? Divine Judgment and Han Yu Teams were all taken down by us. What did you do to help, Li Tian? You’re the so-called smart one. If I decided to turn on your team, do you believe I wouldn’t? You’re always writing strategies but never checking the outside world. Don’t you know Han City now has an emergency main city support call? Our partnership ends here. And Li Tian, in real life, we’ve known each other a long time. I lost to you once as a kid, lost my chance to compete for her, but as an old friend, let me tell you this: don’t become a bookworm. Use what you learn flexibly. Without testing yourself through a thousand changes and the rise and fall of fortunes, blind self-confidence isn’t the real you.”

…Leaving the city, Li Tian’s mind was filled with the dream of unifying the game world. Qin Qing ran up and said, “Brother Li Tian, you always want allies, but since childhood, we only had Liu Tao. Without great strength, how could you have allies? Only equals are allies; without strength, you’re a slave. With absolute strength, none would dare stand against you.”

“Sister Qing, I see now I was wrong. Brains only decide the outcome when strength is equal. If there’s a huge gap, a single word from the other side means you’re forever parted. I must go, to seek my fate.”

Qin Qing watched him go. “Brains are still important if strength is equal. If you’re cleverer, your odds are higher! Didn’t you prove that as a child?”

Hearing this, a flash of fighting spirit returned to Li Tian’s gaze. They’re all just people—why should he be any less? Wasn’t he different as a child?

Li Tian returned to his team and transferred everyone to the Clear Bamboo Team.

From then on, Li Tian set out alone on a true legendary journey, never to return until a year later, when the real Li Tian surfaced and forever changed the fate of two legendary figures.