After Beiluoshimen ran off, Jiang Yuan opened the shop interface and purchased items like a food bowl, dried fish, and beef jerky from the pet supplies section, placing them in the bedroom. He went downstairs to the courtyard, gave Beiluoshimen a few instructions to stay in the home plane and recover peacefully, then told Steward Zhong to remember to feed Beiluoshimen on time. After that, he left the home plane through the teleportation array.
Returning to Shangjing City, Jiang Yuan immediately went to the sect trial envoy. The NPC for the sect trial envoy in Shangjing City was named "Huo Ergu," a sturdy middle-aged man. Before he knew it, Jiang Yuan had leveled up to 105, but some of his equipment slots still had gear from levels 70 to 80. So, he found the trial envoy and said, "I want to see the epic equipment I can exchange for."
"Sure!"
After Jiang Yuan spoke, the NPC "Huo Ergu" nodded and waved his hand, opening an exchange list in front of Jiang Yuan. A dazzling array of epic equipment appeared before his eyes, leaving him a bit overwhelmed. Jiang Yuan patiently looked through each one, discovering that epic equipment could be exchanged starting from level 75, requiring only a certain amount of gold coins and Tianwu Coins.
For example, a level 75 epic necklace [Dragon Spirit Stone Necklace] he saw needed 200 gold coins and 15 Tianwu Coins, while another level 85 epic necklace [Golden Sound Stone Necklace] required 400 gold coins and 30 Tianwu Coins. For every 10 levels the equipment increased, the required gold and Tianwu Coins doubled. Currently, the highest level of epic equipment available for exchange was capped at level 120.
"By the way, I haven't claimed the Tianwu Coins the system gave me. I need to check how many I got."
Jiang Yuan remembered the update announcement mentioned that the system would compensate players with a certain number of Tianwu Coins based on their previous PVE activity. So, he temporarily left the trial envoy and went to the messenger. After collecting the system's compensation email, Jiang Yuan counted and found he had a total of 35 Tianwu Coins in his backpack, just enough to exchange for one level 85 epic piece of equipment.
Remembering that he hadn't done this week's sect tasks or weekly dungeon yet, and that completing them would earn him more Tianwu Coins, Jiang Yuan quickly teleported to the sect map and found the NPC who issued tasks to accept them. The sect tasks consisted of ten rounds, including categories like monster hunting, collecting task items, and submitting life materials. Only monster-hunting tasks could randomly drop Tianwu Coins; the other two types couldn't yield any.
About half an hour later, Jiang Yuan finished all ten rounds of sect tasks, but he felt a bit frustrated—out of ten tasks, he only got one monster-hunting mission, and it didn't drop a single Tianwu Coin! With a dark expression, Jiang Yuan started soloing the weekly dungeon, going from the level 30 [Red Cloud Temple] dungeon all the way to [Lost Land]. The weekly dungeon was kinder to him; after clearing it, he got 20 Tianwu Coins.
With 55 Tianwu Coins in hand, Jiang Yuan excitedly returned to the trial envoy, opened the exchange list, and his face instantly turned into a bitter gourd. "A level 105 epic necklace costs 120 Tianwu Coins? Why not just rob me!" Staring at the mere 55 Tianwu Coins in his backpack, he said indignantly and turned to leave!
Heading into the wild, he found a spot with level 100 monsters, summoned ten thousand Dragon Beard Tigers, and carpet-cleared the area! After having the tigers plow through the zone several times, Jiang Yuan only gained 15 more Tianwu Coins in his backpack. "The drop rate for Tianwu Coins is way too low!"
Just as he was at a loss, he received a message from his close friend Ding Ye. "Hey, Yuanzi, what are you up to?" "What else? Farming Tianwu Coins!" Jiang Yuan replied, then closed the chat window and continued clearing a fresh wave of monsters. "Where are you? Count me in—those things are a pain to farm!" Upon learning Jiang Yuan was farming Tianwu Coins, Ding Ye immediately demanded his coordinates. "Got it! Be right there!" Jiang Yuan sent his location to Ding Ye, who quickly replied and sent a team request.
"Ding! Player Ding Da Shuai Bi requests to team up with you. Accept?" After teaming up with Ding Ye, Jiang Yuan checked his level and said in surprise, "Nice, kid, you're already at level 102? That's fast!" "Of course! While you were in the hospital for a few days, I cleared all my daily tasks and did ten rounds of the battlefield. Look, I'm a first-rank Immortal now!" Ding Ye said in the chat channel, and Jiang Yuan could picture the smug look on his face through the screen.
Opening the level leaderboard, Jiang Yuan saw he had dropped from first to second place. The top spot was currently held by his old rival, the guild leader of Aoshi Guild, Aoshi Longhuang, who was at level 108. "Looks like I need to speed up—that guy Aoshi Longhuang snatched my top spot on the leaderboard." Soon, his close friend Ding Ye arrived beside him, and Jiang Yuan turned to him with a smile. "Yeah, it's weird. That old dog Aoshi Longhuang has been leveling like crazy lately. Wonder what got into him," Ding Ye said as he joined Jiang Yuan in clearing monsters. "Really? Hah, who cares? Even if he's a higher level, he's still no match for me," Jiang Yuan waved dismissively, looking unconcerned. As long as he was around, Aoshi Longhuang wouldn't stir up any trouble!
The two close friends chatted as they pushed deeper into the map. Before long, they unknowingly reached a mountaintop. "Yuanzi, look—there seems to be someone standing on the peak of that mountain over there," Ding Ye said, standing beside Jiang Yuan and scanning the area. He suddenly spotted something and grabbed Jiang Yuan's arm, shouting. "Huh?" Ding Ye's voice caught the attention of the figure. With a flash of black light, the person on the opposite mountaintop appeared before Jiang Yuan and Ding Ye in an instant. Jiang Yuan studied the newcomer: he wore a black robe, had sharp, chiseled features, looked to be in his thirties or forties, with piercing eyes and an imposing aura emanating from his entire being. "Who are you?" Ding Ye, intimidated by the man's presence, asked weakly. "My surname is Han. I'm a hermit living in seclusion here. May I ask the names of you two young friends?" The man in black smiled faintly, and his earlier imposing demeanor vanished, making him seem much more approachable.