Chapter 49: Qin Churan Gifts the Soul Set!

The quest obtained from Carol was a Level 29-30 mission: Hunting Poison Scorpions.

Coincidentally, it was the perfect grinding target for Lu Ming at his current level.

Besides, he would also pocket an extra nine thousand bucks along the way. Why not?

Thus, after heading out through the north gate of Starlight City, he directly followed the map's guidance toward the desolate lands of Level 29-30.

The journey was dead silent.

Lu Ming walked in front, seemingly intentionally exposing his most vulnerable back to the three players in his party.

Just as the group of four reached a secluded, tree-lined path, the three figures behind him suddenly wore sinister expressions.

They exchanged glances, as if reaching a tacit agreement.

Quietly, they swiftly swapped their battered, trash-tier white gear for higher-end dark iron equipment.

The next second, *swish, swish, swish!*

Sharp daggers flashed simultaneously as they launched a sudden, vicious ambush, lunging straight at Lu Ming!

However, just when the three thought their surprise attack was bound to succeed, *clang!*

Two Undead Generals suddenly rushed out from both sides, positioning themselves behind Lu Ming and swinging their swords to block the onslaught for their master.

Seeing this, the three assassins turned pale with fright.

"W-What?"

"When... when did this guy summon these undead warriors?"

At this moment, Lu Ming slowly turned around.

Looking at the trio past the two Undead Generals guarding his front, there wasn't the slightest trace of surprise in his eyes, as if their actions had been anticipated all along.

"Who sent you?"

Seeing Lu Ming remain so calm and composed, the lead assassin, looking somewhat enlightened, suddenly realized: "Could it be... you knew all along that we were targeting you?"

Lu Ming said nonchalantly, "You three are level 30, yet you come to a level 17 Strategist like me to carry you through a quest. How did you know I had the ability to carry you through a level 30 mission?"

"Secondly, even at level 30, you're still wearing a full set of white gear, yet you can afford three thousand bucks to hire a booster. Didn't you even bother to use your brains and think whether that made any sense before hiding your true strength?"

Turns out, from the very moment the three approached Lu Ming, he had already seen through their motives.

That was precisely why he made them pay for the ride upfront.

Look at that—their tickets were bought, and even though Lu Ming kicked them off the carriage halfway through, it didn't stop him from pocketing nine thousand bucks for free!

Right after leaving the city, Lu Ming had already summoned the Undead Generals to lie in ambush nearby, just waiting for the three of them to make a move!

The trio clearly knew what kind of strength Lu Ming possessed.

They came with the intention of assassination precisely because they knew they couldn't beat him in a straightforward fight.

Realizing their plot was exposed, the three didn't dare to clash with Lu Ming head-on and immediately turned tail to run!

"Since you're already here, don't bother leaving."

A flash of killing intent crossed Lu Ming's eyes.

"Kill."

At his mental command, a large group of Undead Generals surged out from all around.

Buffed by the War Stomp aura released by Lu Ming, they simultaneously unleashed [Soul Shatter].

*Swish, swish, swish, swish!*

-2865!

-2865!

-2865!

...

In an instant, two of the assassins were executed on the spot, utterly powerless to resist!

After all, even elite players from Dragon Soul in their thirties, fully decked out in bronze equipment, stood no chance of survival against the Undead Generals.

Let alone these dark iron-geared assassins.

Panic-stricken, the sole survivor hastily activated both Gale Step and Stealth simultaneously.

He fled while looking back over his shoulder to check if the enemies were pursuing him.

When he noticed that although the Undead Generals possessed terrifying destructive power, their movement speed wasn't fast at all and they simply couldn't catch up to a level 30 assassin like him, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yet, at the very instant he turned his head back around—*slash!*

A sharp dagger sliced straight across his throat.

Instantly, fresh blood spurted.

Clutching his neck with both hands, the assassin stared in terror at the cold, glamorous female assassin who had materialized in front of him out of nowhere.

The next second, he collapsed into a pool of blood.

"So weak! You can't even beat me, and yet you wanted to assassinate nether? What were you thinking!"

Qin Churan stepped over the dead assassin's corpse and walked toward Lu Ming.

Checking through the shared vision of the Undead Generals and confirming there were no other nearby threats, Lu Ming dropped his guard.

He refined the corpses of the three assassins and picked up the pieces of equipment and silver coins they dropped.

At this moment, Qin Churan crossed her arms and said haughtily to Lu Ming, "Didn't I tell you? The people from Dragon Soul would definitely never let you go, and they wouldn't retaliate openly—they'd only pull strings behind the scenes!"

Actually, Lu Ming had already guessed that these guys were hired assassins paid for by the Dragon Soul guild.

After all, apart from Dragon Soul, Lu Ming hadn't offended anyone else.

Having finished dealing with the spoils, Lu Ming looked at Qin Churan and asked, "Why are you here?"

Qin Churan walked up to Lu Ming, opened her inventory, pulled out a set of equipment, and handed it to him. "Here, take this."

Upon closer inspection, Lu Ming was shocked to discover that it was a complete set of Level 20 [Soul Set] for the Strategist class!

Seeing Lu Ming's stunned expression, Qin Churan looked rather pleased with herself. "Well? You still need to rely on me at critical moments, don't you?"

Yet Lu Ming asked suspiciously, "How did you know I needed the Soul Set?"

"Um..." Qin Churan's eyes darted away evasively. "Never mind about that! Just tell me whether you want it or not!"

Seeing right through her thoughts, Lu Ming asked, "What are the conditions? Name them."

Qin Churan looked at Lu Ming with her cold, captivating eyes and smiled slyly. "What if I ask you to pledge yourself to me?"

The hand Lu Ming had just extended immediately pulled back.

"Forget it then. I don't want it."

Qin Churan's pretty eyes widened. "Hmph! Even if you threw yourself at me, I wouldn't even want you!"

"Fine, consider it as owing me a favor."

Recalling how even Qingyan had mentioned she couldn't acquire the Soul Set, Lu Ming asked Qin Churan, "Where did you get this?"

Qin Churan feigned nonchalance and said, "With my status and standing, it's naturally within easy reach!"

"We at Godslayer are much more formidable than Heaven Mystic!"

Despite saying that, when Lu Ming noticed that Qin Churan's level had suddenly shot up to Level 33, he understood everything.

Clearly, Qin Churan had purchased a massive quantity of Soul Stones and repeatedly turned them in at Starlight City to farm quest rewards, thereby gathering this entire set of equipment!

Because just yesterday when he saw her, Qin Churan was only Level 19.

To jump from Level 19 to Level 33 purely through Soul Stone turn-in rewards, the cost of purchasing the Soul Stones alone must have been at least two hundred million!

He hadn't expected Qin Churan to go to such great lengths just to get him a Soul Set!

Of course, it was also possible that because she got beaten up yesterday, she wanted to level up and grow stronger as quickly as possible so she could beat up the person who beat her.

No wonder Qin Churan had slain that Level 30 assassin with such ease.

Lu Ming accepted the Soul Set.

He said to Qin Churan, "Thank you."

"Oh? So you actually know how to say thank you? I thought a blockhead like you didn't even know those two words!"

Before Qin Churan could bask in her little moment of triumph, Lu Ming asked another question. "By the way, can you get me another set of the Soul Set for the Mage class?"

"You want that for Lin Youwei, don't you?"

Qin Churan's expression changed on a dime; the smugness vanished instantly, replaced by sheer fury. "You're spending sister's money to raise some other young girl? In your dreams!"

"Figure it out yourself!"

With that, Qin Churan stormed off angrily.

My, my.

She sure is a jealous little jar of vinegar!

However, since Qin Churan had already gone to such lengths for his sake, Lu Ming felt that he ought to offer some sort of response.

Therefore, he called out to her retreating figure, "Let's add each other as friends. I'll pay you market price for this set of equipment later."

Qin Churan had wanted to add Lu Ming as a friend for a long time, but never found the right opportunity to ask.

Hearing Lu Ming take the initiative to invite her, she stopped in her tracks, turned around to look at him, and put on a haughty face.

"Fine then, I suppose I'll reluctantly add you!"

"Sister's leaving now, bye-bye!"

After adding each other as friends, Qin Churan turned and walked away.

*Heh heh~ Got him in the palm of my hand!*

Recovering her composure, remembering that the person who orchestrated the assassination attempt on Lu Ming must have been Dragon Soul Adverse, who almost killed her yesterday, a chilling murderous intent suddenly surfaced in Qin Churan's cold eyes.

"As for yesterday's business, as an adult, I couldn't be bothered to argue or settle scores with you."

"However, if you dare to lay a hand on my man, then I'll make sure you learn your lesson!"

With that, Qin Churan opened a five-person WeChat group chat named [Ranran's Little Princess] and sent a message: "Big brothers, what should I do if someone is bullying me?"

Shortly after, the four silent members in the group instantly erupted.

[Azure Dragon]: "Who dares to bully our Ranran? Outrageous!"

[Black Tortoise]: "Ranran, tell me, who bullied you? I'll sit on him and crush him to death!"

[White Tiger]: "Ranran, where are you right now?"

[Vermilion Bird]: "Tell me your location, I'm heading over immediately."

Seeing the messages from her "Four Guardian Beasts," Qin Churan replied, "It's someone from Dragon Soul called Dragon Soul Adverse, a level 35 Knight. I'm in the Second Heaven, Starlight City."

[Black Tortoise]: "Ah! I just hit level 51... But it's fine, I have a quest that deducts experience whenever I fail. I'll grind this quest repeatedly to drop my level back down to 50, and then I can head back to the Second Heaven!"

[White Tiger]: "Haha! Dumb little Tortoise, why don't you learn from me? I knew Ranran was entering the Abyss, so why didn't you lock your level! I could've reached level 53, but I deliberately kept my level capped at 50! See? Exactly for moments like this when I need to jump freely between the Second and Third Heavens!"

[Azure Dragon]: "Don't worry, little Tortoise, you don't need to come back. I'm already in the Second Heaven. A mere fourth-transfer little Knight? I'll chop him dead with a single slash!"

[Black Tortoise]: "Damn it! Can you guys slow down? Can you leave him to me? Please, let me do it this time, I haven't killed anyone in ages!"

[White Tiger]: "It's all about speed. I've already caught a ride heading toward Jiang Province."

"Right!" Qin Churan added, "Dragon Soul Adverse didn't even dare to do it himself; he hires people for his dirty work. Don't be too conspicuous either. We can't let Dragon Soul find out this was done by Godslayer, otherwise it'll drag in way too many complications!"

[White Tiger]: "OK, I guarantee that guy won't even know how he died!"

[Black Tortoise]: "1"

[Vermilion Bird]: "1"

[Azure Dragon]: "."