Quadruple split.

Chapter 2955 Rainy Night Shadow

[Complete the hidden special quest: Plain Snow Spear - Part 1 - Chaotic Beauty]

[Reward for successful mission: [Xiao·Su Xue Spear] upgraded to [Common] quality.]

[Detected that the [Akatsuki - Snow Spear] form has been upgraded to [Common] quality. This reward will be converted into 50% of the current form's experience points.]

[Due to a 99% mission completion rate, an additional reward has been obtained: a large amount of experience points have been gained in the [Akatsuki - Snow Spear] form.]

[Reward for successful mission: Polearm Specialization Level +2. This level is not limited by profession level. Your current Polearm Specialization Level is: 47+2]

[Rewards for successful mission: Permanently increases experience gain speed of [Xiao·Suxue Spear] by 25% and permanently increases damage dealt by [Xiao·Suxue Spear] by 3%]

……

"The Snow Spear didn't advance to the [Excellent] level..."

After the madam and her many 'daughters' had all left, Mo Tan frowned slightly and muttered something under her breath. Although her tone was somewhat helpless, it didn't seem surprising.

After all, he knew in his heart that compared to the frequency of using the [Ruthless Sword], he didn't use other forms in battle very often on weekdays. The Snow Spear, Dragon Abyss Staff and Asura Halberd were actually quite good, but he hardly ever used other forms.

Therefore, even if Mo Tan has been working hard to increase the frequency of using other forms of [Akatsuki] in the Grand Arena recently, the experience points he has accumulated are probably far less than those of [Ruthless Sword]. Although he still harbors the fantasy that advancing from [Normal] to [Excellent] might not require much experience, the fact that [Pure Snow Spear] failed to advance despite completing its first special mission has clearly proven that fantasy is just fantasy.

"Then keep up the good work!"

Mo Tan stretched, then slung the Su Xue Spear over his shoulder. While adjusting his state, he slowly walked towards the brightly lit area outside the brothel, ready to see what lay beyond the "soul of the spear" dungeon.

Then, just as he stepped out of the door, he suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented, and for a moment he lost all sense of what the world was like.

……

The country was prosperous and established its capital in Lin'an.

In the north, there was a powerful enemy, the Di Rong, who occupied six prefectures in Shuoyun and invaded the south every year.

The court was divided into two factions: the pro-war faction consisted mostly of border generals and some court officials; the pro-peace faction consisted mostly of gentry from the south and eunuch groups.

Ten years ago, the pro-peace faction gained the upper hand, and the imperial court began to reduce the number of border troops and pay tribute to the Di and Rong tribes.

Three years ago, the Di Rong broke the peace treaty and launched a large-scale invasion southward, putting the border in dire need of attention.

……

In the 48th year of the Dahao calendar,
When the Di and Rong tribes first invaded the south, the pro-war emperor died of illness on his southern tour. The main force behind the invasion was likely the powerful southern families who advocated peace.

The young emperor ascended the throne, the empress dowager ruled from behind the curtain, and the pro-peace faction seized power.

General Li Chongshan led his troops to defend Gaoyang Pass to the death, holding the pass with only 3,000 remaining soldiers and becoming famous in one battle.

The imperial court conferred upon him the title of Marquis of Gaoyang (meaning Marquis of Gaoyang Pass), but the border troops' provisions and pay were constantly being embezzled at every level.

……

The 51st year of the Dahaoli era

A mysterious figure begins to appear in the martial arts world, specializing in killing corrupt officials, tyrants, and powerful figures.

He appears and disappears without a trace; no one has ever seen his face, no one knows his identity, only that his weapon is a snow-white spear.

In the martial arts world, she is known as 'Snow Shadow'.

The imperial court offered a reward for his capture, but no one was able to apprehend him.

……

53rd year of the Dahaoli era

A book called "Weapon Compendium" began to circulate in the martial arts world.

The author signed his name as "Bai Xiaosheng," but no one knew his identity.

The booklet records the rankings, weapons, martial arts techniques, and even some little-known secrets of the world's top martial artists.

The martial arts world was in an uproar. Some wanted to find him, some wanted to kill him, but no one could find him.

The Weapon Ranking is updated annually, and the rankings change based on events in the martial arts world.

……

55th year of the Dahaoli era

When the Di and Rong tribes invaded the south for the second time, the imperial court paid tribute and sued for peace.

Marquis Gaoyang opposed the peace treaty and was reprimanded by the court, thus becoming trapped at Gaoyang Pass.

Xueying disappeared for a while, and rumors circulated in the martial arts world that he had died.

……

57th year of the Dahaoli era

The Di and Rong tribes launched their third invasion southward, besieging Gaoyang Pass with an army of 100,000.

Li Chongshan led 20,000 remaining troops in a desperate defense for three months, until they ran out of food and reinforcements.

The imperial court refused to send troops, and the pro-peace faction called it "abandoning the pass to protect the country."

Some people from the martial arts world spontaneously went north to help in the battle, but it was a drop in the ocean.

……

58th year of the Dahaoli era

After the fall of Gaoyang Pass, Li Chongshan led his troops in a desperate battle to cover the civilians' retreat to the south.

All three thousand soldiers died for their country, and the Marquis of Gaoyang was killed in battle.

The Di and Rong tribes massacred the city, rivers of blood flowed north of the Yangtze River, while the south of the Yangtze River was filled with songs and dances.

It can be said that "half of the soldiers die on the front lines, while beauties sing and dance in their tents."

The imperial court issued an edict ordering the retreat to a hundred li (approximately 50 kilometers), to pay tribute and sue for peace, and to divide the country along the river.

……

In the autumn of the fifty-eighth year of the Dahao calendar

In front of the tavern "Relief" on the northern frontier
……

【Plain Snow Spear, Part Two: Shadow in the Rainy Night】

Category: Special Hidden Quest Quality: Unique Legendary
Mission objective: Without revealing that you are 'Snow Shadow', work with the others to thwart the attack by the samurai forces against [Relief].

Mission Rewards: The [Dawn - Snow Spear] form gains flexible experience based on mission completion; the [Dawn - Snow Spear] critical hit rate is permanently increased by 3%; and the [Dawn - Snow Spear] experience gain speed is permanently increased by 25%.

[Note 1: Since this is a hidden quest, no one will see the quest panel, so there's absolutely no need to write some vague, rhyming, classical-style catchy phrases as a note, right?]

[Note 2: However, perhaps someone will see this, so I'll just write something anyway.]

[Note 3: What should I write?]

[Note 4: Ah, how about we talk about this instead?]

[Note 5: I'm not Luli, and it's even less likely that I'm Artemis, since she already has a role.]

……

The above is the quest that Mo Tan received during that dizzying moment. Of course, because it was a hidden quest, just like the previous [Ruthless Sword · I · Wind and Snow] and [Plain Snow Spear · I · Chaotic Beauty], Mo Tan's quest log was completely empty.

However, unlike the previous illusions involving the "Ruthless Sword," the first and second illusions of the "Pure Snow Spear" are not seamlessly connected. Instead, they take Mo Tan directly from a cool summer night to an even cooler autumn rainy night.

"It's raining so hard..."

Noticing the straw hat on his head and the raincoat on his body, Mo Tan looked up at the night sky filled with lightning and thunder and dark clouds. He subconsciously reached behind him and touched something wrapped in white cloth that looked like a long stick.

[The Snow Spear is wrapped up? Why?]

Mo Tan was taken aback at first, then noticed that the increasingly torrential rain was slowly breaching his straw hat and raincoat, soaking his clothes and hair. So he quickly took a few steps and ran towards the only source of light not far away.

It was a building that looked neither new nor old, neither too big nor too small. With Mo Tan's sharp eyesight, he easily spotted the two signs fluttering in the wind and rain, which read the two large characters "wine" and "inn".

Clearly, this is Mo Tan's next stop.

thump -- thump -- thump --

Walking slowly to the tightly closed door, from which light shone through the cracks, Mo Tan knocked on it with a force that was clear enough in the wind and rain, yet not harsh.

"They're here! Normally you'd hardly see a soul here, so why have so many distinguished guests appeared on such a rare occasion? Come in, please come in!"

Although he spoke as if he were complaining, the waiter was very enthusiastic. He quickly opened the door from the inside and said with a smile, "Please sit wherever you like. You can order whatever you want to eat or drink. However, the cook went home early today, so although there is still wine, there is only some coarse food left."

"Instead of wasting time talking nonsense to guests, you might as well close the door quickly."

Sitting inside the lobby, a woman who looked to be in her thirties with an average appearance, who seemed to be the shopkeeper, glared impatiently at the waiter and said irritably, "You freeloader."

Considering that the waiter had just said that there was hardly a living person to be seen here, the landlady's comment about "eating for free" seemed quite apt.

"You're right."

The waiter immediately lowered his head and closed the door, then led Mo Tan to a well-lit corner with no windows or wind and rain to sit down, and whispered, "Boss lady, you have a sharp tongue, what would you like to order?"

"Just bring whatever you like to eat, no need for alcohol."

Having already confirmed the weight of the gun-soul money pouch, Mo Tan took out two small pieces of silver and placed them on the table. Then, he asked the waiter, whose smile had become even more enthusiastic, "Are there any rooms available?"

Yes, sir, yes.

The waiter, whose appearance and attire were so plain as to be almost excessive, even giving Mo Tan the feeling that 'Is this a case of running into Hei Fan?' blinked, casually swept away the silver Mo Tan had placed on the table, and said with a smile, 'Then please wait a moment, I'll go find you some food, and then I'll go prepare your superior room.'

Knowing full well that she would be ripped off, and even believing that there was no such thing as a 'superior room' in the shop, Mo Tan nodded and didn't make a big deal out of it. She simply observed the other customers in the shop after the waiter left quickly.

Besides Mo Tan herself, there were already two tables of customers in the restaurant.

One of the tables was by the wall not far from Mo Tan. There was only one guest at the table. The young man was well-proportioned, tall, elegant, and exuded nobility. He wore a long robe that was obviously very expensive. He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. There was always a faint smile on his lips. A long sword hung at his waist. It was simple and unadorned, with no sharp edge. It was obviously a real weapon that was different from ordinary decorations.

Another table was located in the center of the hall, surrounded by five burly men. The food in front of them was the most sumptuous. Although it consisted of simple cooked dishes and snacks, the portions were large and generous. There were also three jars of high-concentration ethanol beverages on the table that smelled delicious to those who knew about wine, but were strong and pungent to those who did not.

The five burly men carried a long knife, a pair of short axes, a heavy hammer, a spiked club, and a longsword. Although they were the loudest group in the room, they were quite well-mannered and did not raise their voices to an unbearable level. As for their appearance... they were just typical northern men, nothing special.

[They're all trained fighters... In terms of strength, based on the game's standards, they all have physical attributes ranging from high-level to peak high-level. Considering that 'internal strength' is generally more troublesome than 'battle qi' in this world, their ordinary combat power is probably no less than mine, even though I've only just begun to unleash my 'Reverse Scale'.]

After a quick scan, Mo Tan had a clear understanding of everyone's strength. With her eyes lowered, she analyzed the situation in her mind while observing the changes and preparing to deal with any possible scenarios.

After all, with almost zero information available, and having no intention of 'clearing the game in one go,' he was already prepared to risk his life to gather a wave of intelligence.

Sure enough, less than half a minute after Mo Tan sat down and the waiter left, the elegant young man stood up and walked straight toward Mo Tan.

【This is……】

Mo Tan's gaze narrowed slightly. As he looked up at his opponent, he subtly moved his right hand toward the spear behind his back, ready to deal with any sneak attacks or arrows.

however--

"Brother Chi."

The young man in blue stopped half a meter in front of Mo Tan, grinned, raised his arm and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said with a smile, "It's been half a year, and you're still as charming as ever. How have you been?"

He knew Gun Soul.

Although he lacked the incredible empathy that came with absolute neutrality, Mo Tan, who could still see through the schemes of most imposters, cupped his hands in greeting to the person in front of him and said with a forced smile, "Thanks to you, brother, everything is fine."

To be honest, Mo Tan was really sweating bullets at this moment. After all, in principle, he didn't actually know whether 'himself,' or Gun Soul, was doing well. In other words, his answer just now actually met the conditions for triggering the passive skill penalty mechanism of [Knight's Spirit - Honesty]. After all, the truly honest answer should be 'I don't know' or 'I don't know'.

But he still decided to take the risk. The reason was simple: in his view, if his talent still worked in this forced role-playing environment without any information, then the system was being too unfair.

That hellish difficulty might be manageable for me in a chaotic neutral state, but for my current level, it's really too much.

Therefore, Mo Tan believes that, at least for 'Mo', the process of conquering these weapons in [Xiao] should not be so demanding.

And that was indeed the case. Although Mo Tan casually told a helpless lie, he was not rendered useless by his chivalry. Instead, he was... completely unharmed.

"Haha, it's been half a year, Brother Chi, how come you've become so polite?"

The young master blinked and said helplessly, "Could it be that I was inquiring about your whereabouts, Brother Chi, all this time, which made you unhappy?"

"No, it's just that... I'm having trouble concentrating right now because of some trivial matters."

Mo Tan forced a smile and gave a perfunctory reply, then asked in a style more in line with Gun Soul's, "Come on over?"

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation."

The young master was overjoyed, then turned around and brought over the few plates of food on his table that had barely been touched. He sat down opposite Mo Tan and suddenly lowered his voice—

"However, I understand Brother Chi's thoughts. After all, how many people who come to this place at this time are not here for that 'trivial matter' that could lead to the destruction of our country and the loss of our homes?"

Mo Tan: "...?"

Chapter 2946: The End

(End of this chapter)