Chapter 57: Ashes

"How can you treat such a large sum as 250,000 gold coins so lightly?" Li Ren asked, both surprised and puzzled.

"Hehe, Big Brother Bones, you might not know this, but our guild has a lot of life skill experts! Many of the older sisters have already reached level 7!" Rou Shui replied, her tone playful.

Life skills are an essential aspect of any game, but few players truly excel in them. Achieving mastery in life skills requires not just talent, but also resources, time, and perseverance—none of which can be lacking.

All life skills begin with ten levels; the higher the level, the finer the items one can craft. Beyond these ten levels, one becomes a master of life skills, and above that is the legendary grandmaster—a height unimaginable to most. Ordinary players can at best reach level 10. To become a master, one would need exceptional talent or a stroke of luck; otherwise, it's hardly realistic.

Early on in the game, if Ziluo Cloudsmoke Pavilion already had players with level 7 life skills, then even with ordinary materials, their equipment or potions would far outperform typical high-quality items. If the prices were even just a little lower, they would sell out in no time.

Buying materials cheaply, selling finished products at high prices, and with countless beautiful life skill experts handling logistics—how could this not be profitable? According to young Rou Shui, in just two days, their shop had depleted all the inventory left over from earlier skill training. They had already pulled in more than a hundred thousand gold coins, so compared to that, a monthly fee of 250,000 didn’t seem expensive at all.

Seeing the promising development here, Li Ren nodded in satisfaction.

Just then, a message came from Shadow.

Li Ren glanced at it, bid farewell to Rou Shui, and returned directly to the castle.

"My lord, regarding the upcoming battle for Yuxiao City in a month's time, do you have any thoughts?" Shadow asked immediately, wasting no time.

"The battle for Yuxiao City—although the Skeleton King said I was to go alone, the system would never assign such an obviously suicidal mission. There must be something odd about it."

Li Ren had actually pondered this issue for a long time, ever since he received the mission. Though he was still unsure of many details, he was certain of at least this much.

"Indeed, the system would never set such a hopeless condition. The Skeleton King simply exploited a loophole. In fact, he's genuinely trying to help you, my lord."

"Oh?" Li Ren was a bit puzzled.

From the start, Shadow had made it clear the Skeleton King was up to no good, but now he was saying the King was trying to help. Li Ren found it hard to understand.

"Of course. The Skeleton King has authority to assign missions, just as we do in Luoyun City."

Shadow paused before continuing, "Since the Skeleton King can immediately allocate part of the reward upon your acceptance, it means he secretly escalated the difficulty to an ultra-SSS level—a kind of unsolvable task practically impossible by system design."

"If that's the case, then according to his conditions, taking a pitiful squad of guards to attack Yuxiao City is indeed unsolvable."

"Exactly. That's the loophole he exploited. By deliberately avoiding other mission requirements, and by his wording, sending only you from Skeleton Mountain is technically correct. But if I'm not mistaken, this siege will involve more than just Skeleton Mountain," Shadow said with a smile.

"Haha, I see! That would make things much easier."

"Yes, that's right. This Yuxiao City assault mission actually applies to the entire Misty Mountains. How many monsters will be mobilized is still unclear, but players defending Yuxiao City will receive a similar mission. It will be the first large-scale direct clash between players and monster forces. What benefits you can gain will depend on you, my lord."

Li Ren nodded. Indeed, fortune favors the bold. There are always plenty who wish to profit, but few succeed.

"Combining the strength of all players and the city's defenders does make it seem risky," Li Ren thought to himself.

"But I might know of something that could help in this situation," Lantis, who had been listening, suddenly interjected, her eyes brightening.

"What is it?" Shadow showed keen interest. Any useful information was precious, especially coming from the former Supreme Commander of Luoyun, Queen Lantis herself.

"It's a legendary item called Ashes. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it," Lantis replied, not expecting much.

"Ashes! The legendary item with infinite spatial powers? The one that can even..." Shadow’s excitement was immediate.

"Oh? You know about it? That makes things easier. Why don’t you tell us what you know," Lantis said, already used to Shadow’s encyclopedic knowledge. But from his tone, it was clear he knew much more than just a little, which she found quite perplexing.

"Ashes! A piece of jewelry with infinite storage capacity, its mysterious origins unknown. In its initial state, it allows the creation of an independent space and the ability to pick up objects within its range freely. If we could acquire it before the siege, I estimate it could be a crucial upgrade for Luoyun City!" Shadow said solemnly.

Li Ren was also surprised. An item like an infinite backpack, allowing the collection of items within a certain distance without even touching them, would be incredibly useful in a chaotic battle.

"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I know where it is, but getting it won’t be easy," Lantis said, massaging her temples.

"Ashes is a legendary orange-grade item, unowned by anyone. You can only obtain it by challenging the Tower of Worlds."

"The Tower of Worlds?" Shadow was puzzled. Not even after reliving his life did he recall such a place.

"Yes, ordinary people wouldn’t know of its existence. It’s a hidden location, and after one successful challenge, no one else can attempt it again. Naturally, very few know of it."

"But which floor is Ashes on?" Li Ren asked.

"The Tower has ten floors. Ashes is on the eighth. Legend has it that if you clear all ten in one go, you’ll gain an unimaginable power," Lantis said with a shrug. "But clearing all ten is no simple feat. Level alone won’t help—you need more than that. At least, I’ve never heard of anyone succeeding."

Li Ren did some quick calculations. If Ashes, an orange-grade item, was on the eighth floor, then earlier floors would likely only yield orange-grade items as well. Since Lantis knew of it, perhaps there was hope of getting through.

After a moment’s thought, he decided to try. Now that he knew of it, it wasn’t in his nature to just let it go.

If someone else got to it first, he’d regret it forever.

PS: Rolling on the ground hoping for your recommendations and favorites! Your support is deeply appreciated!