Chapter 396: Highest Authority

Zhang Daochu took a full quarter of an hour to calm himself down.

"Who exactly is this Yang Ling!? His name isn't on the Divine Realm Level Ranking, could he be using a fake name?"

"No, that's wrong. The Heavenly Will Sect exclusive dungeon defaults to real names, and these NPCs also recognize real names. There's no way the other party could use a fake name."

"A nobody who isn't even on the rankings actually beat me, and even robbed me of my Internal Technique..."

The moment he thought about the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Diagram being robbed by a player, his heart bled.

"Fortunately, the Divine Guard Bureau still has a copy of the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Diagram."

"As long as I render another great service, I'll still have a chance to redeem it."

"But the Heavenly Will Sect exclusive dungeon has already been taken from me by that guy. How am I supposed to enter this place next time..."

After thinking it over, Zhang Daochu came up with a method.

"Purchase. I'll just have to announce on the public channel that I'm buying exclusive dungeon items related to this place. The price probably won't be low..."

Zhang Daochu felt a faint sting in his heart. He quietly stared at his status panel, his mood easing slightly.

"Heavenly Will True Scripture is still here, Heavenly Will Fist is fine, and so are Heaven's Will Divine Blade and Treading Snow Without Trace. They're all still here."

"Even though losing the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Diagram will cause my combat power to drop significantly in the short term, with Thunder Blade in my arsenal, those players on the rankings still won't be my match."

This thought made Zhang Daochu feel quite fortunate.

He was glad he had mastered both close-quarters and long-range combat abilities.

Even though he'd been robbed of one Internal Technique, he hadn't been reduced to a useless cripple.

"My earlier speculation has been confirmed. The Divine Realm Level Ranking can't be fully trusted. Combat power and level aren't absolutely correlated."

Just then, a figure quietly walked in.

Seeing who it was, Zhang Daochu couldn't help but let out a sigh:

"I took a big fall this time."

"Boss, I already heard you were defeated by an NPC."

The newcomer said cautiously:

"What's that NPC's background? How could it beat you?"

Zhang Daochu was silent for a moment, then said:

"He's not an NPC. He's a player. He clearly also possesses an exclusive dungeon, allowing him to enter this map."

"Hiss—"

The newcomer gasped sharply, his eyes filled with shock:

"A player? How is that possible? Aren't we the only ones who can enter this map?"

"Looking at it now, our earlier assumptions were far too optimistic. The danger of this map is far beyond our expectations."

Zhang Daochu's tone was grave.

The newcomer asked curiously: "Is the other party also like us, only able to enter passively?

Did you ask him for any information about this map?

Like what its activation pattern is? If we don't grasp that pattern, sometimes getting thrown into this map halfway through something is always a bit of a surprise."

"I didn't ask. I was knocked unconscious at the time, so I didn't get the chance."

Zhang Daochu said through gritted teeth.

After a pause, "No need to ask now anyway. I've already lost my qualification to enter this dungeon.

As my designated teammate, you won't be able to come in next time either."

The newcomer looked at Zhang Daochu in disbelief:

"How could that be..."

"Don't ask me. Obviously, 'Divine Realm' arranged it this way on purpose."

"If I had won this time, the other party would have lost their qualification to enter this place."

Zhang Daochu said casually:

"But don't worry. With my position in the Divine Guard Bureau, I'll eventually be able to enter this map again.

Yang Ling of Devour Heaven Palace, I'll settle this score with him personally!"

"Boss, since you know his name, why not use the Divine Realm Communication Channel to ask him?"

"I remember the channel still works in here, right?"

"Eh!? I forgot about that. I'll ask him right now and get to the bottom of this!"

Zhang Daochu's face darkened as he immediately opened the communication channel.

Devour Heaven Palace, Meditation Room.

Yang Ling planned to eat the Nurturing Vitality Essence Pill first.

At that moment, a message suddenly appeared before him.

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): Yang Ling, give me back my Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Diagram!]

"This guy can private message me?"

Yang Ling's mind stirred. He swallowed the Nurturing Vitality Essence Pill in one gulp, then replied to the other party:

[Yang Ling (private chat): I robbed this with my own skills. Why should I give it back?]

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): You're shameless, you're despicable! Why didn't you tell me you were a player?]

[Yang Ling (private chat): I didn't know you were a player either]

Zhang Daochu was stunned, a flash of anger passing through his eyes.

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): I'm rank one on the Divine Realm Level Ranking, and you're telling me you don't know who I am?]

Yang Ling didn't directly reply to that message.

He was considering whether to just be upfront with the other party, and then have both sides exchange useful information.

This would help both of them in their future days in "Divine Realm."

[Yang Ling (private chat): I'm also rank one on the Divine Realm Level Ranking. Haven't you guessed that Divine Realm has different Server Regions? The level rankings are calculated separately]

This time, it was Zhang Daochu's turn to be stunned.

"Boss, what's going on?"

His lackey asked curiously.

Zhang Daochu's expression was serious as he waved his hand and continued replying to Yang Ling:

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): You're saying you and I aren't in the same Server Region?]

[Yang Ling (private chat): That's right. Before this, I'd never even heard your name]

[Yang Ling (private chat): What's your Server Region called?]

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): You tell me yours first]

[Yang Ling (private chat): Since neither of us trusts the other, there's no point in saying. I want to know, did we enter the dungeon at the same time?]

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): Obviously! It's not like you can control when you enter a dungeon yourself. Divine Realm wouldn't arrange for us to enter at different times either, otherwise how would the exit times be calculated?]

Yang Ling's expression shifted. The other party's implication was that he could only enter the dungeon passively?

If their times were the same, then things were already very clear.

"The time they entered the dungeon is the same time I actively entered it."

"My authority is that high? Wait, my level should be the highest. Could 'Divine Realm' be determining when other players enter the dungeon based on the highest-level player?"

"So as long as other players don't have a higher level than me, the initiative for when they enter this dungeon lies in my hands..."

At that moment, Zhang Daochu sent another message:

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): Brother, I want to buy back the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Diagram. Name your price]

[Yang Ling (private chat): I've already cultivated it]

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): If the experts of Heavenly Will Sect find out you've cultivated the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Diagram, what do you think will happen to you?]

[Yang Ling (private chat): You can't prove it. If that really happens, I'll tell them you were the one who taught it to me]

[Yang Ling (private chat): We're all players here. There's no need to make things this hostile. We should exchange some useful information]

[Yang Ling (private chat): This map could become a meeting ground for players from different Server Regions]

[Yang Ling (private chat): Pills, Martial Arts Techniques, Internal Techniques, equipment - all of these can be traded]

On the other end, Zhang Daochu looked at the messages before him and fell silent for a long time.

After a long while, he reluctantly sent a message:

[Zhang Daochu (private chat): What do you have that's worth trading with me?]