The current Azure Dragon City and the Azure Dragon City at the time when Ling Chen left were completely different. When Ling Chen left, there were only NPCs and a beautiful and tranquil city. Now, Azure Dragon City was almost overflowing with players. When Ling Chen appeared at the Revival Centre, he was shocked by how many people there were. [TLN: I’m guessing he went through some kind of portal which transported him to the Revival Centre or it was the teleport scroll]

There were way too many players in China- it was estimated that there were over a hundred million players. Apparently the past few days had broken the records for number of players advancing from Novice Village to Azure Dragon City. The average level of players was around LV10, and the days of Novice Village become a thing of the past. Players and players filled Ling Chen’s vision, reminding him of a crowded and noisy marketplace. Some were asking where the Class Change Hall was, some were forming parties, some were selling things, some were flirting, some were arguing and bickering, some were naively shouting... Ling Chen felt like his eardrums were about to burst, so he quickly squeezed through the gigantic throng of people and ran towards the Mayor’s residence.

Most players were heading towards the Markets or the Class Change Hall. The direction in which Ling Chen was heading did not have many players, as the Mayor’s residence was a restricted area for most other players. Seeing the grand and magnificent structure of the Mayor’s residence, Ling Chen could not help but exhale in awe. In other virtual reality games that he had played, it usually took him a long time to gain access to this sort of place, so this sort of situation was completely new to him.

“Yun Feng should have changed classes by now. I wonder how that girl called Meng Xin and her “Heart’s Dream” studio are going.” Ling Chen thought as he wandered through the streets. He definitely would not forget his purpose in joining this game world. Shui Ruo had already gotten better, so he had fulfilled his life’s greatest wish already. In order to repay the kindness Yun Feng and Meng Xin had shown him, he would definitely fulfil his promise to them. Since joining Mystic Moon, he had been giving his greatest efforts. All that he had accomplished until now was all for that girl called Yun Meng Xin.

Within two years, he needed to garner a reputation and fortune that could rival the entire Yun family financial group, the second largest financial group in all of China. Ling Chen wondered what sort of bold girl would make such a ridiculous bet... and would even seriously try to win this kind of bet.

As he walked to the entrance of the Mayor’s residence, the two city guards saw him and immediately walked over. They courteously said, “Greetings, hero Ling Tian, are you here to see the Mayor? The Mayor said that if it is you, you can directly go in and wait for him at the reception room. We will immediately notify the Mayor.”

Ling Chen nodded his head and directly headed in.

Not long after Ling Chen entered the reception room, he heard steady and powerful footsteps walking towards the room. The Azure Dragon’s Mayor walked in, and smiled, “Ling Tian, you came. How much have you prepared for going to Lonely Spirit Ridge to get the Flaming Black Grass? If you have any questions about Lonely Spirit Ridge, or if you need help with anything, feel free to ask me.”

The Azure Dragon’s Mayor thought that Ling Chen had come here for help. After all, his current strength was still quite weak, whereas Lonely Spirit Ridge was a very dangerous place.

Ling Chen shook his head, walked in front of the Mayor and straightforwardly said, “Mr. Mayor, I have lived up to your expectations and have brought back the Flaming Black Grass.”

“Hm?” The Azure Dragon’s Mayor reaction was abnormally calm. He dug into his ears, his face full of doubts and looked at Ling Chen, “What did you just say? I don’t think I heard you clearly... did you want to ask me about where to find Flaming Black Grass?”

“........” Ling Chen understood why the Azure Dragon’s Mayor had such a reaction. It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard Ling Chen clearly- it was because he simply couldn’t believe that Ling Chen had already obtained the Flaming Black Grass so quickly, and so he subconsciously convinced himself that he had heard incorrectly. Ling Chen nodded, and instead said, “I wanted to ask, if I can bring back the Flaming Black Grass, what will Mr. Mayor give me as a reward?”

“......”

The Azure Dragon’s Mayor thought for a few moments, then sincerely said, “My son’s life depends on the Flaming Black Grass. If you can really obtain some Flaming Black Grass, I will forever remember this favour. If you disobey any city laws, to a certain extent, I will not punish you. Moreover, if you need help with anything in future, you can come to me for help and I will help you as much as I can. Furthermore, I will grant you any wish that is within my power... How does this reward sound?”

“........”

None of the rewards the Azure Dragon’s Mayor had just listed out were any physical goods, but Ling Chen knew how valuable these rewards were. When he had heard the Mayor listing out those rewards, he could even hear his own heart starting to thump harder and harder. This sort of reward exceeded anything that he had imagined. If the Mayor kept his word about the rewards he had promised... his life at Azure Dragon City would become incomparably easier! It would almost be like using a hack.

Without a doubt, these rewards were almost too valuable. However, when he thought of how ridiculously hard this quest had been, coupled with the fact that if it were not for Xi Ling, it would have been impossible to complete the quest, as well as the severe consequences for failing the quest, he actually felt that the rewards were just reasonable. Without wasting anymore words, Ling Chen took out the seven Flaming Black Grass and showed the Azure Dragon’s Mayor. “Mr. Mayor, these are the Flaming Black Grass you asked for. Please don’t forget about the rewards you just mentioned.”

The seven Flaming Black Grass were held together by Ling Chen in his hand, and looked like a giant black flame in his hand. However, he had no idea where these Flaming Black Grass had come from. Flaming Black Grass was created from powerful fire energy and darkness energy first colliding together, then gently entering a normal grass under special conditions. Flaming Black Grass first appeared after the battle between the Golden Crow and the demon beasts of the Demon Beast Clan. However, not too long after, they had all died out. From then onwards, Lonely Spirit Ridge never had any Flaming Black Grass. The Flaming Black Grass in Ling Chen’s hands were made by Xi Ling herself.

The Azure Dragon’s Mayor’s expression froze as he saw the Flaming Black Grass in Ling Chen’s hand. His expression then transitioned from shock to excitement to ecstasy and disbelief. His eyes were rooted on the Flaming Black Grass... their appearance, subtle heat, as well as the slight fire and darkness aura...

Were exactly the same as the Flaming Black Grass in his memories!

“These... These... are real Flaming Black Grass!!”

Within his excitement, the Azure Dragon’s Mayor lost his self-control and began to shout in joy. These Flaming Black Grass that he had dreamed to obtain, and had caused him to lose sleep and appetite had finally appeared before his eyes. He fervently looked at Ling Chen, “Ling Tian!! I can’t even describe how shocked I’m feeling right now! You’ve given me the best surprise of my whole life! I gave you such a difficult task, and did not have much hope in you completing it. However, I never expected that after only a few days, you actually completed it! No wonder you were the first person to leave Novice Village, the successor of the War God’s power! You’ve created an inconceivable miracle!”

Countless expert guards had gone to Lonely Spirit Ridge in search of the Flaming Black Grass, and had never returned. Ling Chen was only a LV10 or so player, yet had brought back the Flaming Black Grass within a few days. Within his heart, the Mayor felt indescribable joy, as well as astonishment.

This young man who came from a different world, his future achievements were unlimited. Just from his ability to receive the War God’s power, as well as his completing of a quest that even super experts could not complete, the Mayor was able to see that in future this man would become someone that ordinary people could only revel and marvel at from below. He believed that Ling Tian would be able to even reach the heights of the War God himself.

Knowing that Ling Tian would have such a future, the Mayor knew that he definitely couldn’t risk offending him. He would help him as much as possible, so that he could rope in Ling Tian in future.

“These seven are all real Flaming Black Grass which I obtained at Lonely Spirit Ridge. I hope that Mr. Mayor will not ask me how I obtained them, because it’s not something that I can disclose, and I don’t want to lie to Mr. Mayor. Now, about the reward......”

“As long as you give me these Flaming Black Grass, I will definitely keep all the promises I made just then.” The Azure Dragon’s Mayor resolutely said.

“Then, can I make any request?” Ling Chen asked.

The Azure Dragon’s Mayor nodded his head, then further explained, “But it must be within my power, otherwise even if I wanted to, I would have to disappoint you. It also can’t be anything wicked or immoral. Otherwise, even if it costs my son’s life, I will have to refuse.”

Ling Chen laughed, “Relax, my request is very simple. It definitely wouldn’t be anything malicious or immoral. It’s something that Mr. Mayor can do very easily; all you have to do is say a few words.”

“In that case, tell me what you want.” Hearing Ling Chen’s words, The Azure Dragon’s Mayor let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that Ling Chen had some extravagant request in mind. If that were the case, he would be forced into a very awkward situation.

“It’s very simple.” Ling Chen moved his hand holding the Flaming Black Grass behind his back, then smiled and said, “In the Hall of Heroic Spirits, there are still ten remaining powers. All of these powers acknowledged me and were willing to accept me. My request is... let me enter the Hall of Heroic Spirits again, and take away five of the powers.”

The Hall of Heroic Spirits still had ten pillars. After examining the pillars, Ling Chen found that in every pillar, there was a scroll... Evidently, those were the scrolls carrying the powers of the respective pillars. Only after a pillar acknowledged the challenger would the pillar disappear, allowing the challenger to retrieve the scroll. Afterwards, the scroll could be used to change one’s class to the respective class inscribed on the scroll. However, the scroll could be saved to be used later. It could even be given to other people to use. As the challenger needed to be acknowledged by the pillar, not the scroll, the scroll could be given to anyone to use.

The remaining ten pillars had all acknowledged Ling Chen, and had even fought over him. Thus, if he received permission from the Mayor, he could take out the scrolls from the pillars, and give them to anyone he chose.

A powerful class was much more valuable than riches or equipment. The reason was because a powerful class could help the player until the end of the game, whereas equipment would become useless as better equipment was obtained.