The quality of the treasure chests I open will always increase by 3.

Having the Treasure Chest King talent is a huge waste if you don't open any treasure chests!

Lin Yuan didn't open any treasure chests today.

The key thing is that there's a golden treasure chest in his backpack that he's been keeping thinking about.

I want to open the treasure chest!

Now, he could look forward to Ice Shadow's treasure chest and shift his attention.

After the minor incident, he continued on his way.

He ran for more than ten hours straight.

When he was hungry, he would eat something; when he was thirsty, he would drink some water; when he was tired, he would sit down and rest. It was very late when he finally stopped in an abandoned town, slept for a few hours, and continued his journey after dawn.

Why was this town abandoned?

Since all the NPCs disappeared, the town was naturally abandoned.

Lin Yuan found it strange that the NPCs would disappear when the game merged with reality.

Is there any necessary connection between these two?

After daybreak, Lin Yuan continued his journey.

Just like yesterday, Lin Yuan kept traveling until noon, when he stopped to rest and eat something.

Hey, a message came in.

Lin Yuan opened the message panel and saw that the message was from Xia Yan.

They have returned to Wuhan University in Shanghai and reported what happened. The school leaders responded quickly and asked Xia Yan to contact him.

"Qingfeng, our school has shown great sincerity. In addition to giving you SSS-level resources, we will also provide you with corresponding attribute stones after you reach the required level, so that you can maximize your potential."

"In addition, our school also has a lot of high-level BOSSes that you can go to farm experience."

"Once you reach level 50, the principal will personally teach you the True Essence Cultivation Method and its usage."

Lin Yuan understood the first two points, but the last one… Lin Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “What true essence?”

"Huh, you don't know about True Essence?" Xia Yan seemed very shocked.

Shouldn't you be someone that a superpower invested heavily in cultivating?

Lin Yuan shook his head, but Xia Yan couldn't see it either: "I don't know."

Xia Yan then explained, "After reaching level 50, we will gain an additional attribute, which is True Essence. However, True Essence cannot be enhanced through game equipment; it can only be cultivated by ourselves."

"I don't know if you've never seen it, but some people can unleash a single slash, and the blade's light can fly tens of meters away. That's the effect of true energy!"

Lin Yuan suddenly remembered.

Previously, while traveling by car from Suzhou to Shanghai, we encountered a rhinoceros monster. It was Lin Quan, the car's escort, who slashed it with his sword, the terrifying sword energy cutting the monster in two.

He was only shocked by Lin Quan's terrifying strength at the time, and did not think of anything else.

Now that I think about it, a sword is clearly a melee weapon, so how could it possibly unleash sword energy and instantly kill a high-level monster from more than ten meters away?

So this is the power of "True Essence".

"Because we can't enhance our true essence through equipment, we can only improve it through our own 'cultivation.' After so many years of exploration, there are many methods for cultivating true essence," Xia Yan continued. "However, our principal's 'Nine Yang Technique' is definitely one of the top true essence cultivation methods in the country. There are no more than 10 people in the entire school who have received his personal instruction!"

Lin Yuan was tempted, but he still didn't agree immediately.

Why not give Wuhan University in the capital a chance?

I need to hear their quote.

No rush. As long as he shines in the martial arts exam, he will naturally receive a call from the admissions office of the Imperial Capital Martial Arts University.

The choice is his.

"I'll think about it," Lin Yuan said with a smile.

"...Okay." Xia Yan was a little disappointed, but she naturally had to appease a player like Lin Yuan, who was just too strong!

Furthermore, Su Yunmeng and Lin Yuan were completely in sync.

She'll go to whichever martial arts university Lin Yuan goes to!

Therefore, as long as Lin Yuan is lured into Shanghai Martial Arts University, it means Su Yunmeng will also be within reach.

Lin Yuan closed the message panel and continued on his way.

It was a very lively day.

Because he entered that advanced map, he instantly became a powerful magnet, except that he attracted monsters instead of iron.

From a great distance, one could see monsters charging towards them, as if Lin Yuan were their mortal enemy.

There's no way around it, the level difference is too great, and he's too good at drawing aggro.

But so what if it's a level 40 monster?

Lin Yuan has already taken down Yang Tuo, who is level 47, so why would he be afraid of these ordinary monsters?

Unless it's a BOSS, he'll definitely turn around and run away. But for ordinary monsters, he can take care of them in a few dozen seconds. Why would he need to run?

Is it a boss?

The entire area was booked by various factions, so how could they possibly come out to hunt him down!

The journey was chaotic and he was constantly killing monsters until he finally got to stop and rest after leaving the map.

I'm so tired, extremely tired.

But there are also advantages.

While others have to go looking for monsters to fight, monsters come to him on their own initiative. Moreover, he can get the maximum 5x experience points. Monsters above level 40 already give a lot of experience points, and multiplying that by 5 makes it quite amazing.

After completing Paradise Lost yesterday, his experience was 13% at level 15. And now? It's reached 37%!

In less than two days, he gained 24% of the experience, which is 12% per day, which is already amazing, especially considering that this was mainly while traveling.

"If you've already cleared all the gold-rated dungeons, then grinding in this high-level area seems like a good option."

"It's just... I'm too tired."

What else?

Previously, Bingying had given the "tickets"—two bronze treasure chests—but he hadn't had time to open them at all.

Now it's finally possible.

He rubbed his hands together excitedly.

What can you get from a bronze treasure chest?

Platinum Edition!

Moreover, they were two bronze treasure chests.

Open! Open! Open!

How many hours has it been since he opened a treasure chest? He's itching to open one.

He took out the first bronze treasure chest and opened it.

You opened the bronze treasure chest yourself.

[Because of your Treasure Chest King talent, the Bronze Treasure Chest has been upgraded to a Platinum Treasure Chest.]

As the light surged, a blueprint appeared on the ground...

What? Blueprints?

Damn, I need equipment!

If I didn't get any equipment, giving me attribute stones wouldn't be bad, but why give me blueprints?

Lin Yuan felt as frustrated as if he had just gotten married and was about to consummate his marriage, only to find that his bride had turned into a burly man after removing her makeup.

He listlessly picked up the blueprints, and related information immediately popped up.

[Design Blueprint: Protective Necklace] This tutorial teaches you how to craft a protective necklace. Requires: Novice Blacksmith.

【Protective Necklace (Platinum)】

Special Effect 1: When hit, there is a 1% chance to activate a protective shield that lasts for 30 seconds or disappears after absorbing 1 points of damage.

Special Effect 2: If you take fatal damage, you will be forced to retain 1 point of health. Once triggered, this effect is permanently lost and cannot be reset by changing the necklace.

Level required: 110

Holy crap, a necklace! And a necklace with life-saving properties!

Lin Yuan was taken aback at first, but then his disappointment vanished instantly.