I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

Day 7 on the frozen ice sheet.

Li Wu's level jumped from seventy-six to seventy-seven.

Monsters in the depths of the ice plains began to swarm, with groups of level 78 elite "Frostfield Giant Bears" appearing in large numbers, each group consisting of a dozen or so.

This monster has an astonishing amount of health, with a single one having over 400,000 HP. It also has high magic resistance and considerable physical defense.

But Li Wu didn't care.

He stood on an ice hill, looking down at the group of Frostburn giant bears roaming in the valley below, estimating their numbers.

"Thirty-two."

He did the math in his head. Thirty-two level 78 elites—based on their current stats, could a fully charged Burning Star Returning to Nothingness Arrow kill them instantly?

Not necessarily.

The attributes are sufficient, but the Frostburn Giant Bear has a talent called "Frost Protection," which grants a 30% reduction in all damage when buffed by ice-type environments.

This ice field is an ice-based environment.

Li Wu thought for a moment and decided not to continue using the Burning Star Return to Void Arrow.

He changed his approach.

Instead of a dark red singularity, a pale blue arrow was gathered on the bowstring.

Ice and Fire Spiral Arrow.

The tearing energy of the two opposing elements, ice and fire, is essentially a form of rule-based damage and cannot be absorbed by the normal reduction provided by the Frost Protection.

The moment the arrow was released, Li Wu began to draw the second one.

Instead of charging up his ultimate attack, he used the lowest-cost rapid-fire arrows. This resulted in a faster firing rate, and although the single-shot power was not as high as the ultimate attack, the combined effect of the triple-split Multi-Arrow Field resulted in higher actual DPS.

The first arrow hit the lead bear.

With a muffled "boom," the ice and fire energies within the giant bear's body intertwined and exploded, unleashing a critical hit damage of over 18,000, instantly reducing the giant bear's health by half.

Then the second, the third...

Li Wu's hand moved almost like a blur on the bowstring. At a rate exceeding five arrows per second, combined with the Multi-Arrow Domain, it was equivalent to fifteen Ice and Fire Spiral Arrows raining down every second.

Before the Frostfield Giant Bears could even react to what was happening, more than half of them had already fallen.

The remaining giant bears, sensing something was wrong, charged toward the ice mound.

But they couldn't keep up with the arrows, and were instantly killed halfway through their journey.

The whole process took less than twenty seconds.

Thirty-two level 78 elites were wiped out.

Li Wu slung the bow over his shoulder and continued deeper into the icy plains.

Three hours later, Li Wu had cleared most of the area. The monster respawn rate couldn't keep up with his killing speed, so he had to venture deeper.

The communicator rang.

It's Hua Zitong.

"Brother Wu, I've already taken care of what Zhuifeng told me about."

"Um."

"There's another new development," Hua Zitong said in a low voice, "That guy, the King of Data, posted another thread today."

"What did you say?"

"He didn't directly criticize you this time, but he did something else." Hua Zitong paused for a moment, "He publicly predicted that it would be impossible for you to reach level 100 within a month."

"He said your current leveling speed seems fast, but the experience requirement from level 70 to 100 is an exponential curve, and it increases more and more slowly as you go on. He bets it will take you at least three months to reach level 100."

Li Wu paused for a moment.

"What is he betting on?"

"He posted a bet: if you can reach level 100 within a month, he will eat his keyboard live on stream. If you can't do it within a month, all the players in the entire 21st district will publicly apologize on the forum."

Li Wu smiled after hearing this.

"Is he trying to use me to generate traffic?"

"I guess so," Hua Zitong said. "But this is actually to our advantage. Everyone is watching your rank. As long as you level up step by step, the opposing side's arguments will become increasingly untenable."

"Level up a hundred times in a month?"

Li Wu quickly calculated in his mind.

At the current rate, he's guaranteed to level up once a day. But after level 70, the experience curve will definitely become steeper, and it will become more and more dramatic as you go on.

It takes about four or five days to advance from 80 to 90, but it may take longer to advance from 90 to 100.

Normally, it should take three months.

But he is not a normal person.

"Tell him I accept the bet," Li Wu said. "I'll reach number one hundred within a month."

Hua Zitong paused for a second on the other end of the communicator.

Are you sure?

"Um."

"Okay." Hua Zitong didn't say anything more. "I'll reply for you right away."

After hanging up the call, Li Wu looked up at the depths of the icy plains.

Levels 70 to 100, level 30.

One month, thirty days.

On average, you must advance one level every day.

This means his leveling intensity must be doubled.

Li Wu took a deep breath of the cold air, then crushed a teleportation scroll.

Next stop, the deepest forbidden zone in the permafrost plains—"The Core of Extreme Cold".

The monsters there are level 80 to 85. For a level 77 player, this is a tough challenge of being three to eight levels higher than their level.

But that's exactly the kind of efficiency Li Wu wanted.

A flash of white light.

He appeared in a completely frozen, black canyon.

The temperature here is lower than outside, and the environmental damage is 150 points per second.

Sharp ice crystals float in the air, capable of cutting through skin at speeds visible to the naked eye.

Li Wu cast Rock Guard on himself and activated Magic Tide Arrow to keep his mana at full.

Then he looked at the group of monsters that were wandering around in front of him.

Level 82 Elite "Frostbone Troll".

It has 550,000 HP and high resistance to both physical and magical attacks.

Li Wu drew his bow.

This time he didn't use the Ice and Fire Spiral Arrow because the opponent's resistances were too mixed, and what he needed was a purer penetration.

The blazing sun pierced through the arrow.

Gathering strength.

A pure white thread shot from the bowstring, tracing a straight line across the ice field.

The first Frostbone Troll's chest was instantly pierced.

A critical hit number of 32,000 appeared, instantly reducing the troll's health bar by a third.

Li Wu then fired a second arrow.

The third arrow.

The fourth arrow.

Every shot hit the same spot on his chest with pinpoint accuracy.

After the sixth arrow, the Frostbone Troll collapsed on the ice.

Li Wu continued looking at the next one.

A minute later, he had cleared all the Frostbone Trolls within his field of vision.

All twelve were wiped out.

Li Wu continued walking deeper into the canyon.

The communicator vibrated again.

This time, he remained as still as a mountain.

"President." The unwavering voice sounded somewhat subdued over the communicator, "I've run into a bit of trouble on my end."

"explain."

"I was leading the second group to clear elite monsters in Stranglethorn Vale. We just ran into a group of similar size. They didn't attack us first, but they followed us within a 50-meter radius the whole time, keeping an eye on us and attacking us."

Which guild are you from?

"The other players' IDs were all hidden, so I couldn't tell. But I observed their equipment and fighting style, and they're not from our server."

Li Wu stopped in her tracks.

"How long have you been with me?"

"Two hours," said Immovable Mountain. "I tried to shake them off, but they seem to know all the routes in Stranglethorn Vale. We changed leveling spots three times, and they all followed us."

Li Wu stood on the ice field for a few seconds without saying a word.

"President?"

"You guys keep leveling up, ignore them," Li Wu said. "But remember their movement patterns. Their positioning habits, the skills they use, and their attack rhythm. Memorize as much as you can."

"clear."

"Also, have Hua Zitong send Ye Feng over there. Have Ye Feng's men infiltrate the vicinity and eavesdrop on their conversation."

"OK."

The communication was disconnected.

Li Wu continued deeper into the canyon. But his mood had changed.

Immovable as a Mountain is the leader of the Second Regiment, which is one of the guild's main forces.

The fact that the other side could keep up with the second group for two hours and even predict their leveling route shows that they have an extremely high level of knowledge about the map of Area 21.

But the other party isn't from Area 21.

This can only mean one thing: the other side has been lurking in Area 21 for quite some time and has conducted systematic reconnaissance.

Those fifty people who collected map data.

Li Wu finally pieced together the whole story.

He looked up at the dark sky above him, his eyes turning cold.

"Looks like we need to speed things up before we get back."

He drew his bow and walked deeper into the canyon.

The wind and snow howled incessantly across the ice field.

But Li Wu's figure did not hesitate for a moment.