A figure even more imposing than the demon centurion slowly appeared before Jiang Yuan, and a line of information flashed into his mind. [Elite Demon: Grand Commander Guma] Level: 110 (Due to excessive level gap, detailed info unavailable) "Who dares to cause trouble in my demon camp?" Grand Commander Guma swept his gaze around, finally landing on Jiang Yuan, and spoke, "Wretched human, daring to trespass into my demon camp. Since you're here, death awaits you!" Wreathed in black demonic energy, the Grand Commander swung his weapon—a pair of massive meteor hammers—crashing down toward Jiang Yuan's head. "Damn! I'm trapped!" Watching the enormous meteor hammers descending, Jiang Yuan instinctively tried to dodge but was horrified to find two arms formed from black energy emerging from the ground, gripping his feet tightly. "Meow!" At this critical moment, the mysterious cat beside him let out a sharp cry and charged straight into Jiang Yuan's body. Jiang Yuan felt a tremendous force hit him, sending him flying sideways involuntarily. After knocking Jiang Yuan over, the mysterious cat landed lightly on the ground, just as the Grand Commander's meteor hammers slammed into the spot where Jiang Yuan had stood, creating a pit as deep as a man. Shockwaves radiated outward in all directions.
Jiang Yuan took a hit from the shockwave, and his health bar instantly dropped by more than half. A damage number popped above his head, leaving him with only a sliver of health. Saved by the mysterious cat, Jiang Yuan was stunned. Just being grazed by the shockwave from the Grand Commander's attack had nearly killed him! At this moment, Jiang Yuan had used "Soul Sacrifice" to transfer the attributes of the Thunder Marsh Bull onto himself, giving him a full 50,000 health points. If he had relied on his own stats, that hit would have cost him several lives! "Time to bolt!" Realizing the terrifying strength of his opponent, Jiang Yuan shouted to the cat not far away, then quickly summoned a Thunder Marsh Bull, mounted it, and fled at full speed. "Meow!" The mysterious cat seemed to understand Jiang Yuan's signal. It transformed into a streak of light, moving even faster than Jiang Yuan! Soon, the pair reached the barrier Jiang Yuan had used to enter this place. Without hesitation, Jiang Yuan stepped through it. "Meow! Meow!" After a dizzying spin, Jiang Yuan returned to the abyss deep within the Shadow-Screening Forest, and a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears. "Huh? You followed me too?" Looking down, Jiang Yuan saw the silver-furred mysterious cat had also come through the barrier with him. "Meow~~~" The cat seemed delighted, rubbing its head against Jiang Yuan's pant leg in a rare gesture, letting out a long, purring sound. "Come on, let's head back to Peace City and report what happened here to the city lord." Jiang Yuan felt the demons lurking in the abyssal rift might have some hidden agenda, so he decided to inform the highest authority in Peace City. "Meow!" The cat nodded, then followed Jiang Yuan with graceful steps toward Peace City. "Ding! Honored warrior, congratulations on claiming the top spot on the level leaderboard. Your reward has been sent via mail. Please visit the messenger in the main city to claim it!" As Jiang Yuan entered Peace City's gates with his stunning cat, a system notification chimed in his ear. "Almost forgot, today's the leaderboard settlement day." Jiang Yuan slapped his forehead and quickly opened the level leaderboard to check. First place: Jiang Yuan, Level 85. Second place: Wen Ding Cang Sheng, Level 73. Third place: Cang Shu Bu Ding, Level 70. ... Jiang Yuan's eyes scanned downward and suddenly stopped at a familiar name. Tenth place: Ding Da Shuai Bi, Level 66. "Ding Ye actually made it into the top ten?" Seeing his best friend's name in the top ten, Jiang Yuan immediately opened his friend list and sent him a message. "Oh ho, cracked the top ten, huh? Not bad!" To his surprise, Ding Ye replied instantly: "Still far from a freak like you. Where the hell did you level up so fast? Spill it!" Jiang Yuan smiled at Ding Ye's message and replied, "Call me 'Dad,' and I'll take you on a ride like you've never felt!" "Piss off, you bastard!" As expected, Jiang Yuan got a friendly and affectionate reply from his buddy, complete with a sneering emoji. "You can join raids after level 65. Wanna team up?" A few seconds later, Ding Ye sent another message. "OK! I've got something to handle first. Wait for my word." Jiang Yuan quickly replied, then closed the chat window and headed to the messenger NPC in Peace City with the cat that had followed him from the demon camp. After paying a fee of one silver coin, Jiang Yuan collected the leaderboard rewards from the mail: 100 diamonds, a title called "Pioneer," a random mythical equipment box, five random epic equipment boxes, and a head accessory. With the rewards in hand, Jiang Yuan headed straight to the city lord's mansion to report his encounter in the abyssal rift. The city lord's mansion stood at the center of Peace City, grand and opulent, with guards stationed at the entrance. "No unauthorized personnel allowed!" As Jiang Yuan approached the mansion's gates, a sword-wielding guard stopped him. "I need to see the city lord. I have important intelligence to share." Jiang Yuan got straight to the point. "The city lord isn't here. Come back another day!" The guard waved him off dismissively, then turned back to his post, hand resting on his sword hilt, expressionless. "Fine." Jiang Yuan shrugged helplessly. If the demons really invaded, Peace City would suffer, not him. With that done, Jiang Yuan left the mansion with the Persian cat and sent Ding Ye a message, arranging to meet at the blacksmith's shop in Peace City. "Bastard, your dad's here!" Soon, Ding Ye appeared with his signature greeting, only to see Jiang Yuan silently switch to PK mode and summon a hundred Thunder Marsh Bulls. "Dad! I was wrong!" The player with the ID Ding Da Shuai Bi dropped to his knees, back straight. When it came to backing down, Ding Da Shuai Bi was a master. Seeing his friend's sincere apology, Jiang Yuan switched back to peaceful mode. "Where'd you get that cat? It's gorgeous!" Ding Ye's eyes suddenly landed on the silver-furred Persian cat by Jiang Yuan's feet, his eyes lighting up. "Found it." Jiang Yuan didn't know how to explain the cat's origin, so he kept it vague. "A cat this pretty would be perfect for a girl! How about giving it to me?" Ding Ye said as he bent down to scoop up the cat. "Meow!" The mysterious cat bristled, its silver fur standing on end. It leaped high, swiping both front paws across Ding Ye's face as he bent over. A damage number rose above Ding Ye's head. As the tankiest class in "All Realms," Ding Ye was instantly killed and respawned at the revival point. "Holy crap! That cat's damage is insane?" After reviving with low health, Ding Ye returned to Jiang Yuan's side, staring at the Persian cat in shock, two red claw marks still fresh on his face. "It's tough. Don't piss it off." Jiang Yuan laughed at the claw marks on Ding Ye's face, looking thoroughly amused. "Meow!" The Persian cat nodded, as if to say, "Jiang Yuan's right!" "Master Cat, I won't dare again." Seeing the cat's human-like reaction, Ding Ye knew it was no ordinary animal and immediately caved, begging for mercy. "Meow!" The cat lifted its proud face high, its gaze toward Ding Ye seeming to say, "Kid, you know what's good for you!" "Tell me about the raid." Jiang Yuan pulled Ding Ye aside to ask about the raid details. "It's a 40-player raid called the Lost City. Extremely hard, but the rewards are amazing! I heard Ao Shi Long Huang from the Ao Shi guild organized a first attempt, but they couldn't even beat the first boss and got wiped out." Ding Ye shared the intel he'd gathered. Without a strong carry, clearing a raid of this scale was impossible. "Really? Even with Yi Dao Po Wan Fa's insane damage output?" Jiang Yuan had witnessed Yi Dao Po Wan Fa's terrifying damage in the Shadow-Screening Forest, so he was surprised. "Bro, it's a raid! One strong guy's useless! You need tight teamwork to clear something like this!" Ding Ye scoffed at the mention of Yi Dao Po Wan Fa, shaking his head. "Let's go check out how tough this raid really is." Intrigued by Ding Ye's words, Jiang Yuan sent him a party invite. "Great! I'll contact Cang Shu Bu Ding and have her pick thirty elites from the guild to join us!" Ding Ye nodded, ready to contact the guild leader and Jiang Yuan's old friend, Cang Shu Bu Ding. "No need for all that. Just take me in, and I'll see if I can solo it." Jiang Yuan grabbed Ding Ye, dropping a bombshell that left him utterly stunned.