Asskickers United was sorely lacking in Advanced Magic. Even though Nie Yan had tasked his guild members to acquire them, those who were successful could be counted on his fingers. This undertaking required time. The guild’s foundation had to be slowly built from the ground up.

Every Advanced Magic was incredibly precious and vital to the growth of any guild!

Nie Yan helping Yao Yao with Karsi’s Blessing was also helping out himself.

Asskickers United required Advanced Magic!

Nie Yan and Yao Yao approached the Black Sin Lotus. It was in full bloom and floated calmly atop the water’s surface. Every petal was akin to a piece of finely carved obsidian, covered in streaks of pink that spread out like wisps of blood.

Nie Yan swam forward to harvest the Black Sin Lotus. He would worry about any possible danger after it was in his possession!

Yao Yao was treading the water roughly 2 meters away from Nie Yan. She was afraid of straying too far from him. As a Mage with fragile defense, she would be in grave danger if she was ambushed by a monster.

The calming fragrance of the Black SIn Lotus gently wafted through the air.

As Nie Yan was about to reach for the Black Sin Lotus, an ice-cold current surged forth from the bottom of the lake, creating a whirling vortex that almost swept him away.

“Shit!” Nie Yan cried out in alarm as a sense of dread washed over him.

He felt a presence that previously lurked in the depths of the lake rushing up toward him. Perhaps this was the guardian of the Black Sin Lotus!

No time for regrets! Nie Yan reached out and plucked the Black Sin Lotus from its stem.

“Let’s get out of here, now!” Nie Yan shouted to Yao Yao after putting the Black Sin Lotus in his bag. They could escape with Return Scrolls after getting back on dry land!

In that instant, the entire lake started churning violently as a giant wave swept toward them.

“Hold on to me!” Nie Yan yelled. He wrapped his arms around Yao Yao’s waist and swam toward the shore with all his might.

But his efforts were in vain as the wave crashed into them, sending them tumbling through the water as they desperately tried to keep their heads above the surface.

“Nirvana Flame, go on without me! You’re faster, you can swim to safety!” Yao Yao shouted. Mages were dreadfully slow swimmers. In the time it took her to swim 5 meters, Nie Yan could swim almost 10 times that distance.

Nie Yan remained silent. Abandoning a woman to save his own hide? He might as well throw away all his face as a man!

Nie Yan and Yao Yao could only tightly hold on to each other as the wave threatened to pull them under. They were completely at the mercy of the turbulent currents, having long since lost the ability to control where they were going.

Nie Yan and Yao Yao were completely caught up in the current. All they could do was try their best not to get separated. Nie Yan frantically held on to whatever part of Yao Yao was in his grasp, terrified of letting her loose. More than once, he thought he failed and lost her. In such a disorienting situation, he had no idea what was what.

Yao Yao was struggling to breathe, and was starting to panic as she grew light-headed. But when she felt Nie Yan’s arm around her, a wave of calmness washed over her.

A strong current battered Nie Yan, dragging him and Yao Yao ever closer to the bottom of the lake.

Yao Yao couldn’t hold her breath for much longer. If Nie Yan didn’t get them back to the surface, she would drown!

Nie Yan started becoming anxious. The terrifying pressure at the bottom of the lake left him unable to speak. He could sense something swimming towards them. It was eyeing them closely like prey.

Nie Yan struggled to open his eyes and saw a shimmer on the lakebed. Gritting his teeth, he swam toward it with Yao Yao in his embrace.

Nie Yan didn’t know where the light came from, only that it grew brighter. In the end, his entire vision turned white as a feeling of passing through time and space came over him.

A spell of dizziness washed over Nie Yan. Even so, he firmly held Yao Yao in his embrace until his consciousness slipped away.

Nie Yan eventually awoke in a cold, barren desert, not knowing how much time had passed. A gust of wind blew by him, sending sand flying into the air.

Where are we?

Nie Yan tilted his head up at the sky, but only saw an endless sandstorm.

Zennarde? Wait, Zennarde the legendary Dragon King!?

Nie Yan recalled what he knew. Zennarde had relied solely on himself to establish the Hiberyth Empire. He had ruled over humanity and the other races for over 2,900 years, a period of time better known as the Dark Era. Could the rumours be true? Does this desert hide Dragon King Zennarde’s Sword?

If the famous NPCs throughout history counted as legends, Zennarde was absolutely a mythical, deity-like existence! Other NPCs trying to compare with him was akin to a firefly trying to compete with the splendor of a full moon. Just his name alone would make people shudder in fear during his tyrannical reign. He was fully deserving of his reputation as the Dragon King.

Even though this place might hold Zennarde’s Sword, Nie Yan didn’t believe he had the qualifications to obtain it. As a godly existence, Zennarde naturally wielded a weapon deserving of his reputation!

After accidently arriving in Zennarde’s Domain, Nie Yan felt slightly apprehensive. He didn’t know just what sort of dangers awaited them.

Nie Yan struggled for a while, but he couldn’t budge an inch. Yao Yao was lying right on top of him.

“Yao Yao, wake up.” Nie Yan nudged her gently.

Yao Yao was slowly roused awake.

“Nirvana Flame, where are we?” Yao Yao rubbed her eyes drowsily. “Is this the graveyard?” She distinctly remembered them being swept up by a rogue wave which dragged them to the bottom of the lake. “How did we get here?”

“We’re in a quest map!” Nie Yan answered. Located deep down at the bottom of the lake, the entrance to this realm was truly well-hidden. For information about Zennarde’s Sword to have leaked out, he wondered which player stumbled upon this place in the previous timeline.

Nie Yan had never heard of anyone obtaining Zennarde’s Sword, so its properties remained a mystery.

However, there were rumours that only a Paladin with a Holy Spirit Heart could wield Zennarde’s Sword.

Nie Yan searched for information related to Zennarde on the official website. But the only information that came up was about his reign as the Dragon King, his various achievements, and so on. Nothing about Zennarde’s Sword was found.

Nie Yan grew all the more curious.

This was an unknown area. Its secrets and treasures were just waiting to be unearthed.

Yao Yao crawled to her feet. Recalling how Nie Yan’s hand had groped all over her body, her cheeks blushed with embarrassment.

Seeing Yao Yao’s pitiful appearance, Nie Yan didn’t know how to explain himself. An awkward atmosphere developed between them.

“Teleportation scrolls don’t work here. Let’s see what’s up ahead. In any case, we’ve got the Black Sin Lotus. If worse comes to worst and we can’t find the exit, we’ll just die and return to Calore that way.” Nie Yan broke the awkward silence. In order to prevent Yao Yao from feeling guilty, he didn’t mention anything about his chapter from the Book of Order. If he dropped the Chapter of Peace, so be it.

“Mhm.” Yao Yao nodded in agreement.

The two avoided making eye contact, only making small talk every now and then. When Nie Yan recalled Xie Yao, his heart slowly settled.

Nie Yan summoned Lil’ Gold. Two people and one dragon set out toward the north, not knowing when they would find the exit. Before long, they encountered monsters roaming in the distance.

“I’ll go take a look,” Nie Yan said. After activating stealth, he slowly approached them under the shroud of the blowing sand.

Nie Yan inspected one of them with Transcendent Insight.

Health: 3,000/3,000

Good, they’re just ordinary Level 40 monsters. Nie Yan breathed out a sigh of relief.

These Undead Bone Hunters somewhat resembled cheetahs with sharp spikes protruding from their backs. They were quite fast. Nie Yan observed them occasionally sprinting around before slowing down to a passive state.

Nie Yan climbed up a steep mound and breathed in the cold air. He saw Undead Bone Hunters stretching out as far as the eye could see. If he and Yao Yao wanted to get past them all, how long would it take?

This place was just like the Illusory Realm of the Dullahans. Would they only be allowed to exit after completing the quest in this map?

“Let’s start clearing the mobs,” Nie Yan suggested. It wasn’t a bad idea to grind here for a while, at least until he got his level back to where it used to be.

If Nie Yan lost the Chapter of Peace here, it truly would be a pity. Although it was only a single chapter, if he collected the other five in the future, he would obtain another item on the level of the Glimpse of Darkness!

The Book of Order was composed of six volumes. Each one gave different stat bonuses and benefits, and would trigger the release of an expansion. Anyone who collected all six volumes would become the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Shrine! Of course, this wasn’t a realistic goal. But if Nie Yan could obtain a few more volumes, he could roam the world as he pleased.

Nie Yan raised his Cavalry Crossbow and fired at one of the Undead Bone Hunters in the distance.「Put! Put! Put!」Five bolts struck the target in quick succession, causing a string of damage values to float up into the air. Almost 60 Undead Bone Hunters immediately charged toward him.

Holy Ardent Blaze!

Yao Yao waved her staff, causing beams of light to descend from the sky and bombard the Undead Bone Hunters. A blanket of damage values rose up into the sky. She dealt at least 500-600 damage to each of them.

This was an area-of-effect spell!

Holy Mages were better known for their single target damage. There weren’t many area-of-effect spells available to them, not to mention they were quite rare. However, the few they had possessed formidable might.

At this moment, Lil’ Gold spewed out a cone of Dragon Breath, dealing another 900 or so damage to the group of Undead Bone Hunters. Lil’ Gold’s Dragon Breath was even more terrifying against ordinary mobs.

Lil’ Gold acted as the tank while Yao Yao cast spell after spell from the back. Nie Yan also joined the fray. Swaths of Undead Bone Hunter collapsed one after another, littering the ground with piles of bone fragments.

Nie Yan checked the quest he received back in the Illusory Realm of the Dullahans.

Task 6 - Kill 50,000 Level 30 or higher undead. (progress: 62/50,000)

His mind trembled in excitement. It would be great if he could complete task 6 and upgrade his Demon Hunter title while he was here.

Aside from this, the Glimpse of Darkness also required him to kill a certain amount of undead to unlock some skills.

Taking this into consideration, Nie Yan started feeling being trapped here wasn’t all that bad. All they had to do was search around for some clues. Who knew what they might uncover?