Game Dongge's words immediately resonated with many casual players, and even some high-level players found his arguments plausible. Futu Shield Mountain, upon seeing Game Dongge's post, was seething with anger. To be honest, he still believed in Lin Tianhao's prowess. After all, Lin Tianhao had helped him level up before, and those operations were not something ordinary players could possess. However, he was genuinely at a loss for how to refute the claims. With no leveling up for a long time and now even dropping a level, it seemed impossible to spin the situation in Lin Tianhao's favor.
Nevertheless, he didn't back down. He simply posted:
"Everyone makes mistakes. It's likely that Blood Emperor had some offline matters that took up a lot of time. After logging back in, he probably tried to catch up by over-leveling and accidentally dropped a level."
Futu Shield Mountain's clearly evasive words only drew ridicule from many. As soon as Futu Shield Mountain's post went up, he received a private message.
"Stop meddling in Blood Emperor's affairs and don't post those random things online. It just makes us look like we have low IQ."
Seeing this message, Futu Shield Mountain was instantly displeased.
"Sis, even you think Blood Emperor is no good?"
"Whether he's good or not, isn't it obvious from the facts?"
Futu Shield Mountain was momentarily speechless, but he still insisted, "I believe Blood Emperor's temporary setback is just that—temporary. He will rise again."
Lin Tianhao was unaware that his one-level drop had caused such an uproar. After emerging from the resurrection altar, the old drunkard looked at Lin Tianhao and said with a smile, "Not bad, you managed to take over six thousand health points from the village head."
Lin Tianhao's mouth twitched. "I never expected that the village head would be a martial artist."
"Yes, he is a martial artist, and a dual-element ice and fire martial artist at that."
Lin Tianhao waved his hand. "Alright, I need to go level up." With that, he left the Novice Village and headed to the Twisted Jungle. Upon entering the dungeon, Lin Tianhao's gaze sharpened. This time, when he fought the village head, he hadn't equipped the Purification Amulet. He hadn't intended to really deal significant damage to the village head. Instead, he wanted to probe the village head's skills and gain Blacksmith Wang's trust.
Now that Punishment Hand had reached three stars, each normal attack could permanently increase his health by three points. However, the same problem arose. The monsters in the Twisted Jungle couldn't withstand his attacks. They were killed in just a few hits, and the health increase was also very limited. After solo-clearing the Twisted Jungle twice, Lin Tianhao smoothly reached level ten. Reaching level ten again didn't come with a reward of free attribute points, but that didn't matter. He didn't rush back to the Novice Village but stayed there until he had stacked his health to 250,000 before returning. With higher health, he felt more confident.
Back in the Novice Village, at the blacksmith's shop, Lin Tianhao submitted the quest of confronting the village head.
"Ding, you have completed Blacksmith Wang's quest. Reward: +5 free attribute points."
Lin Tianhao frowned. The reward seemed a bit low, but he didn't say anything. "Blacksmith Wang, the village head's strength is beyond my imagination. I can hardly contend with him alone."
Wang nodded. "The village head has dominated the Novice Village for so long; of course, he has his unique strengths."
"So, how should we deal with the village head?" Lin Tianhao asked subconsciously.
"I will confront the village head head-on, and you can assist from the side," Wang continued. "But before that, I need you and the old drunkard to go to the mine."
"Ding, Blacksmith Wang has issued a hidden quest to you."
"Quest requirement: Kill the old drunkard."
"Quest punishment: Unknown."
"Quest reward: Unknown."
Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow. When he was being attacked by the village head's combination punches, he felt that they were very similar to the old drunkard's. So, he had his suspicions. Now it seemed that Blacksmith Wang was suspicious of the old drunkard as well.
"Alright," Lin Tianhao nodded. The old drunkard didn't seem to have noticed Blacksmith Wang's thoughts and went to the mine with Lin Tianhao. At the entrance of the mine, the old drunkard looked at Lin Tianhao with a smile.
"Blood Emperor, Blacksmith Wang wants you to kill me?" Lin Tianhao was taken aback. The old drunkard already knew.
"There's no need to be so surprised," the old drunkard said. "Blacksmith Wang is naturally suspicious. He must have discovered something, which is why he sent you to come with me."
Lin Tianhao smiled. "Since you already know, why did you still come?"
The old drunkard smiled. "Of course, I have to come. Because I must die. Only in this way can you fully gain his trust."
"Oh?" Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow. "By attacking the village head, I have already gained Blacksmith Wang's trust."
"No, you haven't gained his trust," the old drunkard said.
At that moment, a figure walked out from the direction of the mine. Seeing the person, Lin Tianhao was shocked. Because the person was none other than the village head.
Lin Tianhao felt that this small Novice Village was almost being turned into a version of Infernal Affairs by him!
"It seems the old drunkard really is your man," Lin Tianhao said with a wry smile.
The village head nodded. "Yes, including the loopholes, they were also intentionally left for Blacksmith Wang to discover."
"The purpose was to let you kill the old drunkard, thereby completely gaining his trust," the village head continued.
"And then what? A surprise attack on him at the decisive moment?" Lin Tianhao asked.
"Something like that," the village head said. "Do you still remember the mandrake potion I gave you? Put it in Blacksmith Wang's wine jar and make him drink it. In this way, you will be the greatest contributor to this battle."
Lin Tianhao fell silent. The village head seemed to sense Lin Tianhao's hesitation and continued:
"Blood Emperor."
"You have been delayed in the Novice Village for so long."
"Help me with this, and I will definitely give you a reward that surpasses the current stage."
Lin Tianhao remained silent, seemingly in contemplation. But in reality, he had already made up his mind. Don't be fooled by his last fight with the village head, where he seemed to have no power to resist. That was because he didn't equip the Purification Amulet. If he had equipped it, the village head wouldn't have been able to control him continuously. Moreover, he had already accumulated eighty free attribute points. If he added them all to movement speed, his movement speed would reach a very terrifying level.
"Alright, Village Head, I trust you," Lin Tianhao said seriously after a long period of hesitation.
"The good things in Blacksmith Wang's hands are of limited help to me. I hope the things in your hands will be more useful," Lin Tianhao said. As he spoke, his arrow had already landed on the old drunkard.
The old drunkard didn't resist and quietly accepted death. Not only him, but even his Blue-and-White Python did the same.
"Ding, you have completed the first kill of the Blue-and-White Python. A server-wide announcement is about to be made. Would you like to hide your name?"
"No."
"Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Blood Emperor for completing the first kill of the Blue-and-White Python. Special announcement: Keep up the good work, everyone!!"