Chapter 169 Wavering

Deep within the Feimeng Plains, at the respawn point for hyena monsters, Yao Yao and Yu Lan's group were grinding monsters.

Yao Yao felt inexplicably upset.

"Yao Yao, what's wrong? You seem distracted," Yu Lan said caringly, standing beside Yao Yao.

Yao Yao shook her head and replied, "It's nothing."

Just then, Yao Yao's voice chat rang. It was Xia Ling.

"Yu Lan, I need to take this voice chat first," Yao Yao said apologetically to Yu Lan, opening the connection.

Seeing Yao Yao acting so secretive, Yu Lan was very curious about what was going on.

"Xia Ling, what's happening?" Yao Yao asked in the voice chat. She felt a mixture of anticipation and unease, a complex emotion that was difficult to explain.

Xia Ling had originally wanted to tease Xie Yao, but seeing how anxious she was, she decided against it. "He is Nie Yan. However, he probably doesn't know you're Yao Yao."

Upon hearing this, a weight lifted from Xie Yao's heart, but her thoughts became even more muddled. The complicated feelings swirling within her were hard to describe. Knowing that Nie Yan was Nirvana Flame, the person she admired was right in front of her, left her feeling lost.

"Xia Ling, what should I do?"

"Since he's right there, why not make a move? I think he's a good person, talented and with a pretty good personality. Let me tell you, Nie Yan is extremely popular in our class right now. A bunch of girls are eyeing him. If you're slow, you'll regret it," Xia Ling teased with a laugh.

Xie Yao's cheeks flushed. She still had some reservations. At the very least, she had to wait for Nie Yan to pursue her. At this thought, a ripple ran through Xie Yao's heart. She didn't quite understand what it meant.

"He said he wants to pursue you," Xia Ling said, laughing.

"Me?"

"The real-life Xie Yao. Are you going to accept? Do you want to tell him that you're Yao Yao?" Xia Ling asked. She would be happy to see it happen.

Xie Yao thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, not yet. Don't tell him."

Xia Ling considered that when it came to matters of the heart, too much interference from others could disrupt one's own thoughts.

"You should handle this yourself. Luckily, those girls don't know you play games. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to hide your identity," Xia Ling said. She could understand Yao Yao's feelings. On one hand, she hoped Nie Yan was Nirvana Flame from the game so she could be with him day and night. On the other hand, she worried that if Nie Yan knew her identity, it would create awkwardness between them.

"I'll hide it for as long as I can. I hope we can find a suitable way to interact with each other," Xie Yao said. Nie Yan actually said he wanted to pursue her. The thought made her feel a little sweet, but remembering Nie Yan's coldness toward her in the game made her feel a little disappointed.

Xie Yao realized that in the game, Nie Yan was deliberately distancing himself from her, which made her feel a little sad.

Nie Yan had no idea that Xie Yao and Yao Yao were the same person. In Nie Yan's eyes, Yao Yao was like an intoxicating poison. He couldn't forget that night, everything they did in the secret room. The lewd scene from that night often flashed in his mind. Yao Yao's flawless, snow-white body, like a goddess who had fallen to earth, was intoxicating. He worried that he would involuntarily fall in love with Yao Yao. Nie Yan had feelings for Yao Yao, even liked her a lot, after having spent so much time together. But his feelings for Xie Yao were profound, an indelible mark on his life!

If he had to choose between the two, Nie Yan would choose Xie Yao without hesitation, not Yao Yao, especially since nothing had happened between them yet. Therefore, Nie Yan subconsciously kept his distance from Yao Yao, maintaining a friendly relationship to avoid hurting her.

Xie Yao could never have known this.

"He wouldn't be interested in other girls. With such a beautiful Xie Yao around, all the other girls would pale in comparison," Xia Ling comforted Xie Yao.

"You're just saying that to make me happy," Xie Yao said with a smile, feeling much brighter.

"I'm telling the truth. Nie Yan said he's taking us leveling. It's about to start. We only have two hours. We'll talk later," Xia Ling said. She was also looking forward to seeing what it would be like to be taken leveling by a legendary figure like Nie Yan.

"Okay, talk to you later," Xie Yao said, hanging up the voice chat, feeling a little anxious.

Over at Link Town, Nie Yan wore a large black cloak, completely concealing his face.

"Does anyone here have any AoE magic?" Nie Yan asked. Since he was taking them leveling, they needed at least one person with AoE magic for faster leveling.

"No."

"I don't either." The mages all shook their heads.

They were lucky to have a few Silver-grade items. The rest were Bronze-grade. They had only saved up for a few high-damage single-target spells. Right now, AoE spells cost as much as five or sixty silver coins, or even more. How could they afford them?

Nie Yan thought for a moment and said, "Wait here. I'll call someone else."

Nie Yan sent a message to Tang Yao: "Yaozi, come help me level up some of my classmates."

"Alright, coordinates. I'll be right there." Tang Yao was about to go leveling with some of his teammates when he received Nie Yan's message. He immediately canceled his plans and rushed over.

Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and the others were chatting excitedly about the upcoming leveling session when someone walked over. He was a bit on the chubby side, but his equipment was top-notch. He also had a blue, chubby Arcane Sprite following him.

When they saw who it was, they were stunned.

They had just been discussing who Nie Yan would call to take them leveling. They didn't expect to see another legendary figure: Kites!

Before the battle in the Molten Forest ended, the most famous person in the Asskickers United wasn't Nirvana Flame, but Kites, who had consistently held the top spot on the level rankings, unshakeable. He was also extremely popular among players.

Kites was also a legend!

"These are your classmates?" Tang Yao asked, confirming with Nie Yan. Then he reached out his hand to them. "Hello, I'm Kites."

Zhai Hao and the others were flattered and replied, "Hello."

The group chatted as they headed toward the Rocky Plains to grind level 30 Stone Giants.

It was their first time fighting monsters of such a high level, and Zhai Hao and the others were a little nervous. But what happened next left them speechless.

They stood in place, watching Nie Yan disappear into the jungle. After a while, he emerged with a large number of Stone Giants swarming behind him like a tide.

Tang Yao began to prepare his magic. In just a moment, he had finished casting. Red clouds rolled in the sky as fireballs rained down.

Zhai Hao and the others were worried for Nie Yan. Nie Yan was in the middle of the AoE spell. Wouldn't he be killed by it? How could Tang Yao cast AoE spells so carelessly? Was this attempted murder?

Then, Nie Yan suddenly disappeared.

Boom, boom, boom! Fireballs exploded on the monsters, and rows of damage numbers appeared. Soon, the corpses of the Stone Giants littered the ground.

The monsters couldn't withstand Tang Yao's overpowered magic damage.

Zhai Hao and the others were searching for Nie Yan, worried that he had died, when they saw him walking over from a distance, leading another group of Stone Giants.

Tang Yao continued to cast AoE magic, clearing out all the Stone Giants in the area. Then, they began to collect the equipment on the ground. After that, they moved on to the next area with a lot of Stone Giants.

Leveling up was easier after the system update, and the Stone Giants gave a lot of experience. Zhai Hao and the others constantly heard the sound of leveling up. First, one person leveled up, then another. The speed was terrifying.

With such efficiency, how could leveling not be fast? No wonder Kites had been able to hold the top spot on the level rankings for so long.

Zhai Hao and the others were ecstatic. In the past, it would take them at least two or three days to level up once, but now, they had leveled up twice in just a few dozen minutes. This was partly due to the reduced experience requirements after the system update, but Tang Yao's terrifying monster-grinding efficiency was truly astonishing.

Stone Giant corpses were everywhere.

Watching Tang Yao's terrifying spellcasting frequency, which never stopped, Zhai Hao and the others were dumbfounded. Didn't Tang Yao run out of mana? Seeing the magic spewing out like a machine gun, the scene was too shocking.

How was the legend of the number one level player born?

This powerful magic-casting speed provided a glimpse. If Tang Yao leveled up like this all the time, being the number one level player was inevitable!

For two hours, Zhai Hao and the others enjoyed the rocket-like leveling speed. Zhai Hao reached level 30, and the others were around level 28 or 29.

Nie Yan reached level 27. He added all his attribute points to Agility. As for Strength, he had used virtual attribute points to increase it to 800, so he could use the mounted crossbow. There was definitely no need to add Strength for now.

"We have a lot of things to do, so we're leaving first. I'll take you leveling again later," Nie Yan said to Zhai Hao and the others. It was already difficult to spare two hours. Next, he and Tang Yao had to participate in guild activities.

"Okay, go ahead and get busy," Zhai Hao and the others said. They understood that people like Nie Yan and Tang Yao must be very busy. It was already extremely kind of them to take them leveling for two hours. They had already leveled up several times, so they couldn't ask for more.

"You've already joined Warrior Tribe. If you want to join Asskickers United, you have to pass the assessment. To maintain the fairness of Asskickers United, I have to be impartial. But I can give you some guild contribution points," Nie Yan said. As the guild leader, he had to set an example and uphold the rules of Asskickers United. He could only wrong these old brothers.

Nie Yan gave them 500 guild contribution points each. Then, he and Tang Yao said goodbye to Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and the others. He had just received a message from Guo Huai that 600 guild members had assembled!

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