On the wilderness, two figures, one in front and one behind, advanced unhurriedly.

Zhou Huai controlled Yasuo, who, like a cold hunter, turned all the scattered Strange Beast he encountered along the way into souls under his sword.

Gandalf, on the other hand, was like a silent shadow, quietly following behind, sharing the continuous stream of experience points.

When a swamp filled with dark green miasma appeared at the end of their sight, a brilliant golden light of Rank-up suddenly erupted from Yasuo.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, Clone 'Yasuo' has Ranks up to LV15!"

Zhou Huai's mind stirred, and he immediately took out the brand new equipment set from the spatial ring Ouyezi had given him.

The wild set!

Gauntlets, a longsword, leather armor, combat boots, and trousers.

The five components shimmered with deep or dazzling light.

Yasuo put them on one by one.

In an instant, a wild and untamed aura burst forth from his body.

Especially the wild one's longsword and the Wild One's Breastplate, which radiated a dazzling purple glow, with stars flowing upon them—they were Epic quality!

Although it was only a one-star Epic, its attributes had already doubled.

In Zhou Huai's consciousness, a brand new panel slowly unfolded.

"Clone Panel (Yasuo)"

"Profession: Unique Hidden Profession, S-Rank Thunder Sword Master"

"Rank: LV15 (0 / 20000)"

"Health: 3820 / 3820"

"Mana: 2050 / 2050"

"Strength: 321"

"Agility: 654 (+205)"

"Stamina: 356"

"Mental Energy: 288"

"Attack Power: 1079"

"Physical Defense: 556"

"Magic Resistance: 305"

"These attributes..." Zhou Huai gasped.

Attack power over a thousand! Agility was even close to nine hundred!

How could this be like a Rank 15 professional?

If he said he was a Rank 30 top assassin, someone would probably believe him!

What surprised him even more was that with the increase in Rank, Yasuo had once again learned a brand new skill.

"Skill 4 (Active/Passive): Thunder Blink Seal LV1"

"Passive: Each of your attacks applies a stack of 【Thunder Mark】 to the target. The mark lasts for 10 minutes, and a single target can have a maximum of five stacks. When five stacks are reached, they will instantly detonate, dealing 200% of your attack power as lightning damage to the target and applying a 1-second 【Paralysis】 effect."

"Active: Consumes 100 Mana to instantly teleport to any target within 100 meters that has a 【Thunder Mark】. Cooldown: 5 seconds."

"Pervert!"

Zhou Huai couldn't ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ help but exclaim in his heart.

Displacement! Burst! Control!

This skill simply elevated the Thunder Sword Master's mobility and assassination capabilities to an incredible height.

If he were to face off against the likes of Zhao Tianming and Zhao Tianqi now.

Zhou Huai had absolute confidence that he could easily cut them down with his sword within ten seconds!

At the same time, Gandalf, who had been following behind to leech experience, also quietly Ranks up to Rank 5.

"Clone Panel (Gandalf)"

"Profession: Unique Hidden Profession, SS-Rank Forbidden Spell Mage" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Rank: LV5 (0 / 2500)"

"Health: 1100 / 1100"

"Mana: 3200 / 3200"

"Strength: 189"

"Agility: 160"

"Stamina: 218"

"Mental Energy: 588"

"Magic Damage: 679"

"Physical Defense: 101"

"Magic Resistance: 327"

Similarly, he also learned a new Rank 5 skill.

"Forbidden Spell: Thousand-Mile Ice Seal LV1: Channels extreme cold power to instantly freeze a large area in front, dealing high ice damage to all enemies in the area and applying a 【Deep Freeze】 effect (greatly reducing movement speed and attack speed), with a chance to directly freeze the target. Cooldown: 90 seconds."

Another ridiculously powerful Forbidden Spell.

One that destroys the world with fire.

One that freezes all things with ice.

Zhou Huai even felt that as his Rank increased, Gandalf's growth potential was even more terrifying than Yasuo's.

Calming his excited mood, the two had already arrived at the entrance of the Shadow Swamp Demon Cave.

Unlike the bustling Clear Water Lake, it was somewhat deserted here.

Only a few teams were resting near the entrance.

As soon as the two approached, a thin young man came up to them with a warm smile.

"Brothers, it looks like this is your first time at the Shadow Swamp Demon Cave, isn't it?"

"Are you interested in forming a team and clearing the normal difficulty together?"

"Our team has a professional healer and a powerful fire mage, so our output is definitely enough!"

Zhou Huai, controlling Yasuo, merely glanced at him indifferently and prepared to walk around him.

Seeing this, the young man quickly followed, his tone even more earnest.

"Brother, don't rush off! Think about it again?"

"Our team composition is really good, we just need two strong damage dealers!"

Zhou Huai remained unmoved and shook his head.

The young man seemed anxious, gritted his teeth, and whispered, "How about this! As long as you two agree to join, we'll pay your entrance fees!"

"This is my maximum sincerity! If I really couldn't find suitable teammates, I wouldn't be begging so shamelessly!"

Zhou Huai finally stopped.

He controlled Yasuo, turned his head, and his tone carried a hint of doubt.

"Entrance fee?"

"What do you mean?"

In his memory, outdoor dungeons were randomly formed, so when did they start requiring fees?

The young man was stunned, then suddenly realized.

"It seems, brothers, this really is your first time here."

Zhou Huai nodded.

The young man leaned in closer, his voice extremely low, as if he was revealing some great secret.

"Brother, it's normal that you wouldn't know then."

"Now, many lucrative outdoor dungeons around Donghai City have been monopolized by those large guilds."

"Want to enter a dungeon? Fine, pay up!"

"Otherwise, you won't even get through the door!"

He pointed to the ominous-looking cave entrance not far away.

"This Shadow Swamp Demon Cave is currently occupied by the 'Sword of Azure Sky' guild."

"To enter normal difficulty, it's one thousand great xia currency per person."

"This is just the cheapest."

"The higher the difficulty, the more expensive the fee! If you want to go to the Calamity difficulty, not only do you have to pay, but after you come out, they'll also take a portion of your Materials from your loot!"

Zhou Huai raised an eyebrow slightly.

"The guild is so tyrannical, and you don't resist?"

Upon hearing this, the young man gave him a look as if he were an idiot.

"Resist?"

"Brother, are you kidding?"

"How do we resist? Are we supposed to go head-to-head with an entire guild?"

"'Sword of Azure Sky' is one of the top guilds in Donghai City, backed by the Sun Family. How dare we little people offend them?"

He sighed, his tone full of helplessness.

"This is considered good; those Rank 20 or 30 dungeons are completely monopolized by large guilds, and there's no chance to even pay to enter them."

"Moreover, this has long become an unwritten rule."

"The Donghai City Lord's Mansion doesn't care about this at all."

"In the past, there were some stubborn ones who went to the City Lord's Mansion to complain, and guess what?"

"They were directly thrown into prison and haven't been released to this day!"

Zhou Huai listened, a cold sneer in his heart.

Outside the city, it truly was a lawless land.

These top guilds had all turned into bandits.

Not only did they seize resources, but they also exploited ordinary professionals.

Others might be afraid, but Zhou Huai was not.

"Thank you for your kind reminder."

Zhou Huai, controlling Yasuo, said to the young man.

"But we still prefer to go as two."

With that, he no longer paid attention to the disappointed young man and, taking Gandalf with him, walked straight towards the dungeon entrance.

As expected.

Before they even got close, more than a dozen figures surrounded them, completely blocking their path.

These people all exuded a fierce aura, were well-equipped, and wore an emblem of a sharp sword piercing the sky on their chests.

The leader was a bald, burly man, who carried a huge battle-axe and sized up Yasuo and Gandalf.

His eyes, like copper bells, were filled with undisguised arrogance and disdain.

"Newcomers?"

The burly man tapped the ground with the axe handle of his battle-axe, making a dull sound.

"Do you understand the rules here?"

"Tell me, which difficulty are you planning to go to?"

Zhou Huai, controlling Yasuo, didn't even lift an eyelid, merely uttering a few words calmly.

"Is it any of your business?"