After analyzing the situation, Glass Immortal Maiden immediately looked towards Li Muyang.
"Nameless sir, are there any more Blood Demon Beasts blocking the way ahead?"
In the time it took Glass Immortal Maiden to speak, Li Muyang was continuously acting, nonchalantly slaying each Blood Demon Beast that emerged in the air on the spot.
By the time Glass Immortal Maiden had finished speaking, no further attacks had befallen the carriage.
It seemed that the bizarre Blood Demon Beasts had been exterminated, allowing the carriage to travel unimpeded on the streets of Loushan City.
But Li Muyang shook his head as he watched the countdown numbers ticking in the upper right corner of his field of view.
"There should still be Blood Demon Beasts blocking the way..."
[06:39]
There were only six minutes and thirty-nine seconds left of the ten-minute survival limit.
What they had just repelled was merely the first wave of Blood Demon Beast attacks.
Li Muyang, wielding the Immortal Sword, immediately leaped onto the roof of the carriage, gazing ahead.
Li Muyang could easily get through the First Phase of the beast lair attack using reloads and time stops.
However, the Second Phase of Blood Demon Beast attacks, which had far more frequency and numbers than the First Phase, posed somewhat of a struggle for him.
He had failed nineteen times, and his best record was surviving only until the countdown reached 02:19.
The Blood Demon Beasts that followed would increase in number, their overwhelming presence resembling that of a bullet hell game.
A perfect holographic simulation game had suddenly turned into a tower defense game at that moment.
Li Muyang swung his Immortal Sword, trying to kill the monsters without using time stop, saving it for the most critical moments.
After killing so many Blood Demon Beasts, he gradually learned the patterns of their appearances.
Every time a Blood Demon Beast was about to emerge from the void, the scent of blood in that spot would momentarily become several degrees thicker.
Relying on his acute sense of the changes in the smell of blood, Li Muyang could now accurately predict where the Blood Demon Beasts would appear.
Sword light flashed repeatedly as Li Muyang moved around the carriage, up and down.
Sometimes he stood on the roof cutting down the Blood Demon Beasts, sometimes he dove into the carriage, at times he rushed to the front of the carriage, and on occasion, a few Blood Demon Beasts even emerged from beneath the carriage.
His number of failures continued to grow.
Li Muyang was close to being sick of the guide's screams of terror coming from inside the carriage.
This guide was always panicking, and every time he would die during the third burst of beast tide at the seven-minute mark.
In the third round of attacks, Blood Demon Beasts emerged from the air, almost filling his entire field of view.
Even with Glass Immortal Maiden's help, Li Muyang had an extremely difficult time resisting, leaving him no opportunity to care for the guide.
This high difficulty challenge somehow brought back to Li Muyang the feeling he had when he first played the Soul series.
The difficulty, the frustration, the struggle, dying over and over again, yet somehow the addictive feeling... Ah, how Souls-like!
Finally, when the countdown in the upper right corner of his field of view hit zero and the mission log updated in that instant, Li Muyang, sitting atop the carriage's roof, took a long breath of relief.
He had finally passed the damned level.
This tutorial, why is its difficulty so high!
Li Muyang, looking at Glass Immortal Maiden beside him, half-covered in blood and looking somewhat unwell, asked.
"Fairy, are you all right?"
In the final wave of beast nests, one of the Blood Demon Beasts had spewed out some kind of sharp projectile, piercing through Glass Immortal Maiden's shoulder.
At this time, Glass Immortal Maiden was pale, appearing to be in great discomfort.
She shook her head with a pale face and bit her lip, "I'm fine, it's just that Lord Zhao..."
Glass Immortal Maiden looked towards the corpse inside the carriage with a fleeting sadness in her eyes.
In the frenzied attacks by the Blood Demon Beasts, the carriage was nearly falling apart. The heavy roof had been torn off, the body was covered with cracks, and the coachman had long since vanished in the lairs, leaving only the two tired horses still running forward.
Zhao Erhu, who played the role of the guide, lay motionless inside the carriage in an extremely gruesome state, with blood and entrails everywhere.
And on the street ahead of Li Muyang and his company, figures finally appeared, recognized by their attire as the guards of Loushan City.
This group of armoured soldiers with swords stood guard outside a government office, vigilantly watching the approaching carriage.
The strange smell of blood in the air had completely vanished, and Li Muyang's mission tab in the upper right corner of his field of view showed an update.
[Survival with the Glass Immortal Maiden for ten minutes—Completed]
[Current task progress has been saved]
[New mission: Accompany the Glass Immortal Maiden to meet the General of Loushan City]
From here on, there was no place for Li Muyang to make an appearance in the plot.
Despite the near-collapsed carriage and the corpses within scaring the soldiers, once the Glass Immortal Maiden announced her identity, someone immediately showed them the way and escorted Li Muyang and the Glass Immortal Maiden through the heavily guarded gates of the mansion.
This Wu General of Loushan City seemed to be very afraid of dying.
His residence was completely surrounded by heavily armed guards—apparently, he had summoned all the elite troops he could to protect himself.
No wonder the streets inside the city were so deserted—nobody to be seen at all.
The common people hid inside their homes out of fear, and Wu General gathered all the soldiers he could to guard his mansion, which explained why there was no one on the streets.
Not long after the Glass Immortal Maiden stepped into the General's mansion, her complexion slightly changed—as if she sensed something.
As soon as she met with the General of Loushan City, she didn't exchange pleasantries but went straight to the point.
"General Wu, could you please gather all your family members and servants?"
The Glass Immortal Maiden seemed to have confirmed that the demon from the Blood Demon Path was inside this mansion, and was right beside General Wu.
The pot-bellied General Wu was sweating profusely at this moment, looking overjoyed as if he had seen a savior when the Glass Immortal Maiden arrived.
Upon hearing her request, General Wu, without a hint of hesitation, immediately complied.
Soon, all the maids and servants in the General's mansion, including several flower-like ladies, were brought out.
When General Wu's favorite wife was helped out, the Glass Immortal Maiden's gaze turned cold, and the Immortal Sword unsheathed from behind her in an instant...
"It's finally over."
On the stiff wooden bed, Li Muyang took a long breath, opened his eyes, and stretched lazily.
The demon cultivator in Loushan City had really infiltrated General Wu's side.
The moment the Glass Immortal Maiden saw her she drew her sword. Even though the target dodged, there was still Li Muyang on the side.
Activating the "Sword Hidden in the Belly" skill, Li Muyang spat out a flying sword that easily impaled the demon cultivator. It also happened to trigger a 50% chance of instant death, killing the demon on the spot.
[Newbie Tutorial—The Mystery of Loushan City has been cleared]
[Guide: Deceased]
[Glass Immortal Maiden: Slightly Injured]
[The Mastermind Behind the Scenes: Deceased]
[Clearance Rating: B (Passable)]
[With your keen reactions, powerful strength, and invincible talent, you successfully slew the source of turmoil in Loushan City, saving countless lives, and earning immense merit. However, the death of the mastermind has cast a shadow over the mystery of Loushan City's troubles and the disappearance of the Magician Zhang Daniu from the Heavenly Oversight. The investigation can no longer continue, and the outcome can only be considered passable]
[Would you like to claim your clearance reward?]
[Current selectable rewards (choose one): "Blood Demon Heart Refining Technique" (Incomplete), an ordinary flying sword, or 200 catties of Spirit Rice]
[Please note, host, after claiming the reward, this tutorial level will end completely and can no longer be entered]
Li Muyang blinked in surprise as he read through the settlement information floating in his vision.
First, he was surprised at the choose one of three rewards—all of them were good stuff!
A cultivation manual, a treasure, or two hundred catties of Spirit Rice… any one of these rewards was something Li Muyang, who was the lowest of the low, currently needed.
Without a high-level cultivation manual or any treasures for self-defense in the Refinement Demon Sect, he was doomed to be just a labouring underling, even lacking enough Spirit Rice to eat.
If he had a cultivation manual, he might be able to increase his cultivation level and possibly even hope to enter the Inner Sect!
And the third option of two hundred catties of Spirit Rice was enough to last him half a year, perfectly addressing his urgent need.
However, despite the tempting rewards, Li Muyang didn't claim them.
Because the clearance rating was very low, only a B (Passable).
Perhaps if he achieved a higher rating, the rewards he received would also be more powerful?
With that thought, Li Muyang relaxed, closed his eyes, and lay back down on the wooden bed.
The Game with the Fairies started up once more!