The moment I stepped out of the Treasure Pavilion, a countdown for the Storm Platform refreshed again in the upper right corner—still three hours to go. According to the time, that means another wave of BOSSes will spawn in the newbie village at 11 o’clock tonight!

Three hours, got it!

……

“Hey, you’re the last Storm Platform champion, the legendary July Blaze?!”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind me.

I turned around and saw a young man standing on the steps, dressed in flowing robes, with two red dragon horns protruding from his head, looking quite impressive. His name and level were also displayed in my player’s field of vision—

[Half-Dragon · Logan Lane] (Elite BOSS)

Level: 12

Attack: ???

Defense: ???

HP: ???

Skills: ???

Description: Logan Lane, a member of the half-dragon clan, able to wield dragon energy and the laws of death. He enjoys great prestige among the younger generation in Black Castle and is the personal disciple of the chief of Samsara Valley, Henry Stone.

……

Chapter 10: White Robes

As soon as I saw he was Henry Stone’s disciple, I knew there was trouble.

“That’s me. What do you want?”

“Of course I have something to say.”

He said coldly, “Last time, the Storm Platform opened in a rush, and I was in seclusion training, so you managed to snatch first place by luck. The next time the Storm Platform opens, that will be the moment for us to settle things!”

“I thought it was something serious…”

I waved my hand. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

“You…”

His face flushed with embarrassment. He’d wanted to spar with me verbally and show off, but I didn’t even take the bait. Honestly, is there any point in arguing with an NPC here? It’s a waste of time. I’d rather spend it exploring some of the rules of Black Castle mode.

“And me!”

From the side, a beastly roar sounded. When I turned, I saw the furious Inferno Lion standing there, face dark as iron, saying, “July Blaze, our duel has only just begun!”

“Billy, it’s you! Long time no see!” I laughed heartily.

“You!”

He looked grief-stricken. “July Blaze, there’s no way we can both exist in this world. See you on the Storm Platform later!”

“Alright, I’ll be waiting!”

……

I strode away, then wandered around the mountainside, only to find that there wasn’t even a wild rabbit left in the woods. The monsters had been completely cleared out. It was basically impossible to level up here anymore.

“Dang dang dang~~~”

Outside, someone knocked on my helmet, and then Little Flynn’s voice came through: “Little Reed, why haven’t you come to the newbie village yet? How long are you going to take to change to that hidden class? Did you succeed?”

“I did, but I can’t get back to the newbie village for now, so I’m stuck.” I said awkwardly.

“Damn…”

He was speechless. “Guess I’ll have to level up alone.”

“Did you get your level 10 class change?”

“Yeah!”

He couldn’t hide his excitement. “I learned two level 10 skills, Fireball and Wind Blade. Double casting spells, take a few steps back and cast again, I can almost instantly kill monsters of the same level. Leveling up is super fast, and I joined someone else’s leveling party, so it’s pretty safe too. I’ll probably hit level 12 tonight.”

“Not bad!”

I was actually a bit envious. “That’s a high level.”

“By the way, what level are you?”

“Level 7.”

“Damn… noob!”

“……”

……

The world has changed—even Little Flynn is calling me a noob now. Is there no justice left in this world? Feeling annoyed, I made my way along the mountain path to the Storm Platform. Looking at the empty platform, I said, “Master, I need to talk to you!”

Immediately, a wild wind swirled on the Storm Platform, gathering into the form of David Dean. “Little one, what is it?”

“How can I improve my strength? Or rather, my level?” I asked bluntly.

He hesitated for a moment, as if digesting what “level” meant, then said, “Come with me. There’s a place on the Storm Platform where the spiritual energy is abundant. You can absorb the energy of heaven and earth to cultivate yourself and try to break through the Qi Condensation realm.”

“Oh!”

A death knight guarding the Storm Platform stepped out, giving me a cold look. “Follow me.”

“Thank you.”

After all, he was my guide, so I should show some respect.

A few minutes later, after entering the back mountain of the Storm Platform and passing a few huge boulders, sure enough, a scene of ancient trees, birds singing, and flowers blooming appeared ahead. Everything here was full of vitality and spiritual energy, far better than the gloomy outer mountains. At that moment, a small icon appeared in the lower right corner of my interface, labeled “Cultivate.”

So, I sat cross-legged on a flat rock and confirmed to start cultivating.

“Beep!”

A cultivation progress bar appeared on the interface, lasting 60 seconds! After 60 seconds, there was another soft chime!

“Ding!”

System prompt: Qi Condensation successful, gained 1000 experience points!

……

So that’s how it is!