His thoughts were interrupted by a voice, prompting Bai Ye to look in the direction it came from.
Standing behind him was a man, about thirty years old, dressed somewhat bizarrely. He wore an ancient-style long robe and a black hairpin on his head, holding a sword about three feet long in his hand.
Bai Ye blinked in surprise and said, "Someone from the martial world?"
Bai Ye scrutinized the man's face, finding it somewhat familiar, especially the two small mustaches, which he remembered vividly.
Yes, it was this damn guy. When he first entered the World Battlefield, this man had chased him relentlessly, forcing him to crawl into an underground sewer and endure unimaginable stench just to save his life.
At the same time, the man who had suddenly appeared raised his sword.
"Disciple of the Sun Moon Holy Cult, Zhang Yeshan," the man sneered, looking at Bai Ye. "Kid, ready to die?"
As Zhang Yeshan spoke, he flicked his wrist.
The three-foot-long sword in his hand danced like a silver snake emerging from its den. In an instant, silver sword light swirled, exuding a chilling aura.
As the sword light swept across the surroundings, marks of slashes appeared on the ground, looking shocking. One could imagine that if they struck a person, it would result in scattered limbs and broken bodies.
This swordsmanship clearly showed skill!
Even if he wasn't a top master, he could be considered a first-class swordsman!
Then...
*Bang!*
Bai Ye suddenly raised his handgun and pulled the trigger.
The next instant, the swirling sword light vanished.
A bloody hole appeared on Zhang Yeshan's forehead. He fell backward stiffly, and after hitting the ground, he was completely silent.
"You have killed a participant (Martial World)."
"For the first time completing a kill on a participant from the Martial World, you have received a reward: A fragment of the Sunflower Manual."
Bai Ye glanced disdainfully at the corpse on the ground and casually tucked his gun back into its holster.
What a joke. Sun Moon Holy Cult disciple? Doesn't he know I know the One Yang Finger?
Even though I've returned to ten years ago, I'm not the me who was chased back then!
However, thinking about it, Bai Ye suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Zhang Yeshan, who had once chased him, had appeared. It seemed he had truly returned to ten years ago, all because of that damned "Try Again" card!
The situation was infuriating, but since it couldn't be changed, he could only accept it.
He had fought and conquered on this battlefield before. What was so bad about doing it again?
Bai Ye displayed a hint of fearlessness. He could succeed once, and he could succeed a second time.
Therefore, it was time to consider his current situation!
Bai Ye looked at the projected light screen again.
Participant: Bai Ye
Combat Power: 22 (Gray)
God Stone: 0/10
God Stone Shard: 0/99
Held Items: Loki's Gashapon Machine, Sunflower Manual (Fragment)
Strength: 8
Speed: 7
Stamina: 5
Spirit: 12
Intelligence: 12
Durability: 5
Resistance to Mental Pollution: 15
[The average baseline for adult bodies detected by these life data is a value of 10]
A ancient scroll had appeared among his held items. Bai Ye casually flipped through it, and the first page was written in a bold, flowing script: "To practice this technique, castrate yourself."
And then...
Nothing else!
Bai Ye's head was instantly filled with question marks.
So, the fragment meant only the part about self-castration, and then there was nothing about the martial arts itself?
Who in their right mind would be willing to cut themselves?
Bai Ye simply pretended he never received the thing; it was too much of a scam!
Next were his current physical data. Bai Ye looked at it and felt a deep sense of guilt, realizing he was dragging down all the adults in the world.
Strength, speed, and stamina were all below the adult average. Bai Ye had almost forgotten that ten years ago, he had been a weakling among weaklings. His biggest dream was for his paper-waifu to come to life. The only attributes above average were intelligence and spirit.
However, there was good news. Although Bai Ye had lost everything upon returning to ten years ago, Loki's Gashapon Machine had returned with him.
Even though the thought of "Try Again" made Bai Ye angry, he couldn't deny that the Loki's Gashapon Machine had been crucial to his reaching the end of the World Battlefield in his previous life.
[Loki's Gashapon Machine]
Description: A masterpiece from the God of Mischief. You can find anything you desire from the gashapon. What you actually get depends on your luck.
Usage Rule 1: Within twenty-four hours, you can only obtain three gashapons. The usage count will reset to zero at midnight each day.
Usage Rule 2: If you are willing to offer God Stone Shards, you can exchange them for a chance to draw a gashapon of a specified color.
This item was obtained by Bai Ye from the ruins of a divine relic after a great deal of effort. Each time he spun the gashapon machine, Bai Ye could get a gashapon. The gashapons contained different abilities, weapons, or items.
Generally, the quality of the items was distinguished by color, with white being the worst, followed by green, blue, black, red, and gold.
Luck was very important to use the masterpiece of the God of Mischief.
But overall, this gashapon machine was mostly reliable, though it occasionally pulled a fast one...
After pondering over his data panel for a while, Bai Ye quickly realized what he needed to do. He had to improve his physique as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if the gashapon machine provided him with powerful weapons, he might not be able to unleash their full potential with his weak body.
To put it more directly, his frail body could become an exploitable weakness for his opponents during combat. Therefore, this was a weakness Bai Ye urgently needed to address.
"Apocalypse Ruins..." Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Bai Ye, and he murmured, "If it's the Apocalypse Ruins area, there's actually a good place suitable for me."
There were many areas in the World Battlefield, which were broadly divided into three types. The first type was ordinary areas, where the danger was usually not high. Their main purpose was to find some common weapons and supplies.
The second type of area was called dangerous areas. These areas usually had considerable danger, with all sorts of monsters or natural disasters. The advantage was that people could find some good items to strengthen themselves in dangerous areas, and the supplies were more abundant. The disadvantage, of course, was becoming a corpse more easily.
The third type of area was called forbidden zones. These areas were the most dangerous and were closely related to certain worlds, possessing their own stories. Entering these areas would also trigger forbidden zone missions. If they could be completed, it would usually lead to a significant increase in one's strength. God Stones had only two sources: the first was from the chosen ones of various worlds killing each other, with a certain probability of obtaining them after a kill, and the second source was forbidden zones.
Bai Ye's target was the forbidden zone in the Apocalypse Ruins—the Umbrella Corporation underground base!
...