The upper three floors.
...
At the entrance, Lin Zhao's figure flickered and entered. On the ground ahead lay some discarded low-level potions, dropped by monsters. They were of too low a grade, and using them would waste the shared cooldown of potion usage. Chen Xue's Scarlet Moon Knights squad was not far ahead. Upon seeing Lin Zhao arrive, Roman turned her sword and said, "Brother, you're a bit late!"
"Mhm."
Lin Zhao joined the battle with his sword, starting to grind the level 53 monsters ahead. The experience gained from level 53 monsters was no longer as generous for Lin Zhao, but it was still quite substantial for the group of players in their late 40s. So, Lin Zhao trained with them for a while before heading off alone to find the entrance to the fourth floor.
The Chaos Shrine had a total of nine heavens. Training on the third floor was still a bit on the low side. With the current strength of the Scarlet Moon Knights, they could handle monsters between level 55 and 57, though the clear speed would be slightly slower. However, higher monster levels meant higher experience, so a slower clear speed would still be comparable in overall efficiency.
Lin Zhao's consideration was that the higher the floor they ascended, the safer they would be. This was because the advantage of the Flourishing Peony and Azure Knights was their numbers, not their level. In terms of average level, the Scarlet Moon Knights were the ones far ahead in Cloud Top County.
...
After searching for a while and killing a group of monsters, a hazy figure appeared ahead. It was a young girl holding a long sword, wearing a black miniskirt, with streaks of blood on her legs. Her face was veiled, but her eyes were exceptionally beautiful. She merely glanced at Lin Zhao before her expression turned wary. Her body lowered, and she crouched like a small beast, with wisps of sword intent flowing around her blade.
"I didn't expect Cloud Top County to have such a powerful sword cultivator..."
She narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "A decent Sword Nurturing Lake, a Celestial-grade flying sword, and that flying sword carries a strong ancient aura. Who are you to possess such fortune?"
"None of your business!"
Lin Zhao frowned and directly posted the woman's attributes in the team channel. This was the first boss they had encountered in the Chaos Shrine. Since it was by chance, they might as well take it down—
[Chaos Sword Servant] (Gold-grade Boss)
Level: 53
Attack: 600-880
Defense: 320
HP: 200000
Skills: ???
Description: A sword attendant who faithfully followed Jian Chen, the Chaos Sword God, for half her life. Once a wanderer, after receiving Jian Chen's care, she swore to protect him with her life until Jian Chen shattered his sword heart, dispersed his Dao, and fell silent. After finally sleeping eternally in the Chaos Shrine, she endured the lonely annihilation of the years, guarding her master, Jian Chen, in this world.
...
"Level 53 Boss."
Chen Xue said in the team channel, "Logically, with your personal ability, you could solo it."
"Indeed, soloing is not a problem."
Lin Zhao chuckled, "But it will be faster if we all kill it together. Also, my level is a bit too high, so I need to bring it down a bit. You guys hurry over, share some experience, and then quickly find the entrance to the fourth floor. We'll grind monsters slowly after we enter the fourth floor."
"Mhm!"
Chen Xue smiled and nodded, "We'll be right there."
Roman pursed her red lips and said speechlessly, "Bring down the level? Is that even human language? I'm afraid only my brother in the entire 'World' has the right to say such things..."
Chen Xue shot her a glance, "Don't keep saying 'my brother.' When did Lin Zhao become yours, Roman?"
"Exactly."
Ding Chi picked his nose, "Trying to hog it all to yourself?"
Hearing this, Chen Xue's pretty face turned slightly red, and she couldn't help but overthink things.
A few minutes later, everyone arrived.
Lin Zhao directly aggroed the boss. He alone was enough to firmly lock aggro and withstand the pressure of the Gold-grade Boss's attacks. The arrival of the others would only make the entire clear process more stable. Under the coordinated barrage of Lu Li and Yaoguai, the Chaos Sword Servant's health plummeted like a water pump. In less than a minute and a half, its health was depleted. With a pained howl, it knelt to the ground, dropping a pile of gold coins, equipment, and potions.
As expected, the triple drop rate lived up to its reputation!
Chen Xue was somewhat happy, "Feels like a good haul..."
Lin Zhao drew his sword and retreated, saying with a smile, "I'll go find the entrance to the fourth floor. Chen Xue, you handle the equipment."
"Mhm!"
Chen Xue stepped forward and first scooped all the gold coins into her inventory. Then she checked the equipment attributes. A level 45 Gold-grade armor with excellent stats was rolled by Ding Chi. A pair of level 45 Silver-grade combat boots with practical stats were rolled by Zhang Jun. Next was a level 45 Gold-grade necklace that increased magic critical hit chance, which logically went to Lu Li.
After that, there was a skill book. Chen Xue waved her hand and was suddenly stunned, her expression moved—
[Heaven and Earth Throw] (S-grade Skill Book): Condenses internal true qi to deal a heavy blow to the target. Attack damage is related to the user's maximum attack power. Learning requires level: 25, Learning requires profession: Sword Master, Berserker, Holy Paladin.
...
The Heaven and Earth Throw skill book finally arrived! The S-grade Heaven and Earth Throw skill book that the Giant Yellow Bees in the Blazing Bee Forest of Cloud Top County no longer dropped actually appeared in the Chaos Shrine. Moreover, this was a skill usable by heavy armor classes. Whether it was a Sword Master, Berserker, or Holy Paladin, learning Heaven and Earth Throw would greatly enhance their output. Lin Zhao's terrifying damage was already proof of this. Usually, if a Mage or Ranger got close, they would be instantly defeated by a Heaven and Earth Throw. It was truly a killing move for heavy armor classes.
"Not bad..."
Ding Chi narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "This trip was worth it."
Chen Xue held up the skill book and said, "Except for Lin Zhao, who has already learned it, all other heavy armor players roll the dice. Let's decide ownership by luck? If we get another Heaven and Earth Throw skill book later, we'll follow the same rule: excluding those who have learned it, the remaining players will continue to roll the dice until all our Scarlet Moon Knights heavy armor users have learned it?"
"Sure, I support it!"
Zhang Jun nodded with a smile.
"Mhm, I have no problem with that either." Rong Xing nodded slightly.
"Okay, it's open."
Chen Xue activated a roll dice system, and several people promptly cast their dice. The next moment, this incredibly precious skill book was snatched up by Rong Xing. Holding the skill book, Rong Xing was extremely excited. In fact, he knew that all the heavy armor players present were from the Scarlet Moon Knights studio, true "insiders." He himself was considered the only "half-outsider." The fact that Chen Xue and Lin Zhao allowed him to take this book made Rong Xing somewhat relieved. Joining the Scarlet Moon Knights was indeed a wise decision.
"Found it."
Just as everyone finished distributing the equipment and skill book, Lin Zhao's voice came from the team channel, "Head east from your current position, and you should see the entrance in less than a minute. Hurry over. We'll level up on the fourth floor and look for the entrance to the fifth floor next."
"Mhm, mhm!"
...
Chen Xue, carrying her Giant Rock Spear, led the group and hurried forth. As they stepped through the entrance to the fourth floor, a crisp bell sound reached their ears—
"Ding!"
System notification: You have entered the map [Chaos Shrine Fourth Floor]. This map currently has 1 Boss (Dark Gold grade), and 5 Heaven and Earth Throw skill books are carried by random monsters. They will drop upon defeat!
"Holy crap..."
Ding Chi laughed, "So straightforward?"
"Indeed!"
Rong Xing chuckled, "This is the first time I've heard the system announce how many bosses there are and what rewards monsters carry. Pretty amazing."
"Let's start the conquest."
Lin Zhao brandished his sword and said solemnly, "Level 54 monsters. We'll level up here for now, and maybe grind for Heaven and Earth Throw. You guys push forward together, and I'll go solo on the left side of the map. Shout if you find a Boss or the entrance to the fifth floor. We'll share information."
"Mhm, mhm!"
Lin Zhao, holding his Qinglu Sword, strode to the left. His gaze swept across the field, revealing grey sword-armored figures standing on the pale, barren stone slabs. They had all lost their lifeforce due to the corrosion and annihilation of time, transforming into green skeletons wielding long swords and clad in armor. Moss grew on their bones, but the aura of slaughter still lingered.
Sword Armor, level 54, Gold-grade monster, with a chance to carry the current God-tier skill book, Heaven and Earth Throw. This was very attractive.
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and began to pull aggro. He pulled over 100 Sword Armors at once, then activated his Sword Qi Guard and began to slash wildly within the monster pack. Skills like "Sweep the Universe," "Heaven and Earth Throw," and "Draw Sword Slash" came to him effortlessly. Simultaneously, he continuously activated "Qi Controlling Sword" attacks to increase skill proficiency. The flying sword Mingyue in the Sword Nurturing Lake was also summoned and attacked once every 3-second cooldown to boost his damage, making the grinding speed even faster. Flying swords were auxiliary artifacts, and they should be used frequently; otherwise, why would players have flying swords?
In a short time, the monsters around Lin Zhao fell one after another. With the splash damage of his Qinglu Sword and his lifesteal effects, his solo grinding and monster-killing efficiency was almost equivalent to half a squad on Chen Xue's side. However, since everyone was on the same map and not far apart, experience was still shared. Lin Zhao, due to his superior output and damage absorption, might gain a little extra experience, but it invisibly and significantly boosted the entire team's leveling speed.
About half an hour later, Mo Yin's voice came from the team channel, "Found the entrance to the fifth floor, but haven't located the Boss on the fourth floor yet."
Chen Xue's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Lin Zhao, what do we do? Should we split up to search for the Boss? A level 54 Dark Gold Boss, honestly, the rewards should be quite substantial."
"Mhm."
Just as Lin Zhao was about to speak, a Sword Armor he had just slain dropped a Heaven and Earth Throw. He immediately shared the skill book's illustration in the team channel and said with a smile, "One of the 5 Heaven and Earth Throw skill books in the fourth floor map has already dropped. How about... we head directly to the fifth floor to conquer it? We can consider the Dark Gold Boss on the fourth floor as just bait, letting the Azure Knights and Flourishing Peony fight each other to the death, what do you think?"
Chen Xue chuckled, "Having gains and losses, I think that's acceptable."
Ding Chi, Rong Xing, and others nodded in agreement. After Ding Chi rolled and obtained the Heaven and Earth Throw dropped by Lin Zhao, they all headed straight for the fifth floor.