Who said this card is outrageous?

……

Zhang Che planned to rest in Dongzhou City for about a week. During this time, in addition to resting, he also made sure to wander around the city to see if he could find any good things.

For example, Zhang Che, who is now a Silver-level adventurer in the Adventurers' Guild here, is qualified to exchange for all the good items in the guild's inventory.

As long as he can afford the points, that's fine; Zhang Che doesn't really lack that kind of thing.

Although Dongzhou is a small city, it has a rich history. With more than two hundred years of uninterrupted inheritance, it has naturally left behind a lot of things.

Putting aside everything else, the Adventurers' Guild alone has more than a dozen Tier 4 card recipes that can be sold to the public, and most of them are of green quality, with only a handful of white quality ones.

Moreover, judging from the situation, this guild must have some rare blue-quality items hidden away. It's just a pity that those good things are not for sale. After several unsuccessful attempts to communicate with them, Zhang Che had no choice but to give up.

Then came the news related to that Rock King.

On the fourth day after Zhang Che arrived in Dongzhou City, news spread like wildfire throughout the city that the "Mountain Rock King" of Dalonggou, officially named the Rock Dragon Lizard, a fifth-tier extraordinary creature, had been killed by an unknown expert who happened to be passing by.

At first, no one believed it.

Zhang Che also heard many extraordinary individuals scoff at the news, saying that such news resurfaces every few years and they are already immune to it.

However, as the incident continued to unfold, various detailed and plausible reports came back from the outside, and those who had initially been skeptical began to doubt whether the Rock King was truly gone.

It wasn't until the Adventurers' Guild issued an announcement confirming that the fifth-tier Rock Dragon Lizard, nicknamed "Mountain Rock King," had disappeared from Dalonggou that the belatedly aware adventurers rushed towards Dalonggou, hoping to find a bargain.

With the fifth-tier Mountain King gone, the remaining extraordinary creatures in Dalonggou were no longer taken seriously by the cities, including Dongzhou.

However, after so many days, those who are only now thinking about picking up bargains are probably already missing out.

Chapter 303 Bystander

Seeing the suddenly deserted Adventurers' Guild, Zhang Che, an extraordinary individual who hadn't gotten involved in the matter, naturally attracted a lot of attention.

After all, the superhumans who dare not go to Dalonggou now are either too cautious or have self-awareness, feeling that even if they get involved, they won't gain much benefit, so it's better not to get involved.

To avoid ending up dead.

In this situation, it would be a bit conspicuous for Zhang Che, the most capable middle-level transcendent being to compete for benefits, to remain in the city.

But after all, he was a mid-level transcendent, and even if these people had the courage, they wouldn't dare to mess with him casually. At most, they would just mutter a few words occasionally.

Zhang Che naturally didn't care about these things, and just continued to inquire about the latest news from the Southwest Province from the Adventurers' Guild.

He has basically collected all the card recipes needed to fuse the [Windhawk Armor], but he still has a large shortage of materials.

For Zhang Che, it would be best to gather all the materials through trading, but the reality is that a small city is a small city, and there are hardly any mid-level extraordinary materials in the trading market of Dongzhou City.

Even if he occasionally encountered one or two, they were mostly of very low value and could not catch Zhang Che's eye at all.

Even so, those materials were quickly bought up by others at a premium, leaving Zhang Che stunned.

You should know that even in places like Hezhou City in the Southeast Province, such a bizarre situation would not have occurred before.

Is something amiss here in the Southwest Province?

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the door. Upon closer listening, it was discovered that the first group of adventurers who had gone to Dalonggou had returned with their spoils.

When the news of the Mountain Rock King's death spread, most people didn't believe it, but a few stubborn individuals still decided to give it a try.

High risk, high reward. Those who entered the first few batches of Dalonggou, although they did not get too many good things due to insufficient strength, still reaped a rich reward in the end.

According to these people, it's enough for them to eat for several years.

"You have no idea how lively Dalonggou is right now!"

Among the first beneficiaries, a big mouth started boasting about his experiences.

"Actually, it was already quite late when I arrived. Not only people from Dongzhou City, but also people from several nearby cities had gone there."

"There were several mid-level transcendents, who were fighting a fierce battle with the transcendent creatures in the ravine."

As he spoke, the man added that he had also seen some reckless individuals trying to interfere in the battles of mid-level transcendents, but their fates were, of course, not good; they all basically died.

Occasionally, some lucky ones manage to survive, but they are usually missing limbs; very few escape unscathed.

The conversation flowed freely, and eventually the topic inevitably turned to the mysterious powerful figure who had killed the Rock King.

Everyone was amazed at just how powerful that person must be to kill the Mountain Rock King, whom even several fifth-tier superhumans from several cities couldn't defeat when they joined forces.

In short, based on the current situation, that mysterious expert is most likely a sixth-tier transcendent being, or at the very least, a top-tier fifth-tier transcendent being.

Chang Cheh stayed in the corner, silently listening to the people discussing him.

They probably never imagined that the mysterious powerhouse who defeated the Rock King was actually just a fourth-tier card maker.

To be honest, the strength of that Rock King was indeed astonishing. Even with the help of the Black Rhino Armor, Zhang Che did not have the strength to defeat it.

In the end, it was actually the armor's inherent demon-refining ability that allowed him to forcibly seal away the weakened Mountain King through a clever trick.

Even so, Zhang Che still had to use the extra mental energy stored in his mind anchor to do it.

After all, a behemoth that could withstand the combined attacks of several fifth-tier superhumans without dying was something Zhang Che was not capable of handling at his current level.

The reason Zhang Che chose to leave instead of staying to collect more spoils was because his mental energy had reached its limit, and he could no longer maintain the existence of the Black Rhino Armor for a long time.

Although there is still some ability to protect oneself, it is best to take profits while one is ahead, just to be on the safe side.

He's now just one step away from the fifth rank. At most, he'll need to cultivate the Bright Candle Guardian Technique for a few more weeks, or make a few fourth-rank cards, and he should be able to take that final step.

The advancement within the major ranks is basically a change in quantity. As long as your upper limit is not directly restricted, even if you just rely on hard work, it is enough for a person to go from the fourth rank to the sixth rank.

Of course, this is contingent on having sufficient resources and lifespan.

Zhang Che's original talent may have been average, but after merging the souls and memories of two lifetimes, his mental strength ceiling was significantly increased.

In addition, he has recently made up for several shortcomings, so for him, being a mid-level extraordinary is definitely not the end point. There is no need for him to put himself in danger for a little bit of petty gain.

……

At this moment, another commotion came from outside the Adventurers' Guild, and this time it was much louder than before.

It looks like some important person has arrived.

Soon Zhang Che watched as a group of people surrounded three familiar faces and stepped into the Adventurers' Guild's gates—

Li Zhaoya walked at the front with his head held high, while Wu Xingyuan and Liu Ying stood on either side like loyal guards.

As a mid-level transcendent, Li Zhaoya's treatment was naturally incomparable to that of lower-level transcendents. Soon, someone came over to ask him if he needed help.

"Hehe, I was lucky. I was taking care of two juniors near Dalonggou a while ago, so I took the opportunity to bring back some good stuff."

Li Zhaoya did not hide anything; he deliberately changed some of the details.

As for why a mid-level transcendent didn't stay in Dalonggou but returned to the city ahead of time, that's not something these minor characters can question.

Soon, Li Zhaoya and his two companions were invited to a special trading room by the staff of the Adventurers' Guild. The crowd then began to discuss again, speculating about how many good things they had brought back this time.

With one mid-level superhuman and two strong third-tier superhumans, even without competing with other mid-level superhumans, bringing back a few mid-level superhuman resources shouldn't be a problem, right?

However, only Zhang Che, who was in the corner, knew best that Li Zhaoya was clearly not telling the truth.

When they left, there were probably only the three of them in the entire vicinity of Dalonggou.

Taking advantage of this time difference, no one knows how many good things they got their hands on. Zhang Che even suspected that they were the ones who reaped the most rewards besides himself.

Chapter 304 Departure

Zhang Che has always maintained a calm attitude towards this situation.

If an opportunity is his own, he will definitely defend it to the death; but if it has already fallen into someone else's hands, he will not complain or try to seize it.

Moreover, capturing that Rock King was already Zhang Che's biggest gain from this trip; the other things he might have gotten were just the price he had to pay.

With this in mind, Zhang Che left the Adventurers' Guild.

I've done most of what I needed to do, and it's time to head to my next destination.

On the other side, Li Zhaoya, who had just sold his haul for a good price, walked out of the trading room with satisfaction. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the guild gate and suddenly had a sudden realization.

That figure from behind looks so familiar.

As a fourth-tier elementalist, Li Zhaoya was very confident in his perception abilities, so he would never think that what he just felt was just his imagination!

In that brief moment of distraction, the figure had already vanished from Li Zhaoya's perception, making him even more certain that his intuition was correct.

The area around the Adventurers' Guild is only so big. Unless the other party can teleport, it's impossible for them to have gone very far in such a short time.

Therefore, the inability to sense the other party's presence is definitely not a matter of distance; it can only mean that the other party has mastered some urgently needed secret means, or that their strength is far superior to one's own.

When did Dongzhou City acquire such a powerful figure?

"Sir, what are you looking at?" At this moment, a staff member finally couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just think I saw someone I know." Li Zhaoya replied casually, then asked, as if it were unintentional, if any powerful figures had come to the city recently.

"A formidable fellow..."

The staff member only thought for half a second before immediately giving the answer: "Indeed, a mid-level transcendent with a silver-level badge has visited the guild and even rented the meditation room for a few days."

The staff member only touched on the point, saying everything that could be said.

All this information is out in the open; even if he told Li Zhaoya, Li could easily find out by asking around.

As for the more detailed aspects, that's beyond the knowledge of someone at his level.

Li Zhaoya, of course, knew the rules, so he simply nodded, casually tossed a few hundred star coins as a tip to the staff, and then left with Wu Xingyuan and Liu Ying.

On the way back, Wu Xingyuan, who had been holding back his words for a long time, quietly approached Li Zhaoya and said that because he was walking in front and clearing the way, he had also seen the figure, and even saw it in more complete form.

"Uncle Li, I feel that the back view of that person really does look a bit like that official's."

"Is that so?" Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Li Zhaoya's eyes, but it quickly dimmed again.

"Alright, whatever. We've come back with a full load this time. Why don't you hurry up and go talk to Xiao Lan's parents and settle things? What's the point of talking about this useless stuff!"

"Get out of here! Get out of here!"

As he spoke, Li Zhaoya slapped Wu Xingyuan on the forehead, and the latter immediately stopped talking, covered his head, and ran home happily.

"Then I'll be going now, Uncle Li." Seeing this, Liu Ying also took her leave at the opportune moment.

Watching the two juniors leave, Li Zhaoya couldn't help but let the thought that had just been extinguished resurface: if that person really was a senior, according to the information provided by the guild's front desk, it seemed that the other party had not deliberately concealed his actions.

So as long as he's willing to inquire, he'll definitely be able to find out where the other person is currently living.