After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

"Mm." Lulu's face revealed a faint smile, and Lin Da dispelled her unease with just a few words.

After inventorying the materials, Lin Da took advantage of his light drowsiness and spent an hour visiting the blacksmith shop.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He commissioned the blacksmith to craft equipment from the Magical Creatures' materials.

For four pairs of Black Shell Crab General materials, the cost was 100,000 Gold Coins, and they could craft two 20-level orange main weapons.

The claws of the Red Armored Crab King would cost 200,000 Gold Coins to craft a pair of orange set jewelry.

Lin Da didn't have much cash on hand, so he sold the materials from his ring.

The prices were very fair, and with his Glorious Adventurer Badge displayed, no merchant dared to cheat him on price; otherwise, the shop's reputation would be ruined the next day if word got out.

From the miscellaneous materials, Lin Da sold them for a total of 900,000 Gold Coins.

With the 100,000 Gold Coins from Lai Xi, he had amassed... one million Gold Coins!

Even for the once Snow Goose, this was a substantial amount.

Earning a million Gold in just one day... Lin Da clutched the 'weighty' Savings Card, his mind filled with countless emotions.

Indeed, adventurers make money fast.

Of course, they also spend quickly. Lin Da spent 300,000 Gold just on forging costs.

He inquired with the owner of the blacksmith shop, a retired Star-ranked adventurer, "Do you have any Epic-level Dragon Skin for sale here?"

"Dragon Skin? That's a rare commodity; haven't seen it in a long time," the owner shook his head, "Even if it were available, the starting price would be two million Gold Coins, not something just anyone can afford."

This figure was even higher than Lin Da had anticipated.

It seemed that there were fewer adventurers hunting dragons this year, making the rare even more valuable.

He had a Thousand-Change Demon's Demon Core, and with a piece of Dragon Skin, he could craft the Epic-level Equipment "Magic Dragon Soft Armor."

"The price is too high; I'll wait for another opportunity," Lin Da said.

He wasn't in a rush. If he crafted the Magic Dragon Soft Armor now, he wouldn't be able to wear it at his current level of 19 anyway.

When he reached the appropriate level, he would have the Gold Coins to craft the Magic Dragon Soft Armor.

The crafting of the Murderous Crab series equipment would take seven days. Lin Da paid a deposit and returned to the villa,

Late at night, after washing up and lying in bed, he routinely opened the system to sign in.

[System Notification: Today's sign-in rewards 2,440 Diamonds; total Diamond count is 13,320.]

"Monica must be close to level 20 by now. I'll save up some more Diamonds and give her a hand."

As Lin Da pondered his future plans, sleepiness gradually overtook him.

The next morning, the Phoenix Tail Flower trio set out toward the wilderness, hunting the remaining Murderous Crabs.

The monsters were too scattered. When Lin Da returned in the afternoon, he had only hunted 40, gaining 12,000 Mystical Points.

With his remaining points, the total was 79,867, about 20,000 short of reaching level 20.

He took a carriage to the Adventurer's Guild, where a long queue of people formed, a lively scene.

After tallying their achievements, the adventurers all came to collect their bounties.

As a Glorious Adventurer, Lin Da could go directly to the VIP room on the third floor to receive priority service from the manager.

In just a few short minutes, he exited the crowded Adventurer's Guild.

His Savings Card was once again credited with 500,000 Gold Coins, of which 300,000 was an extra subsidy applied for by Mayor Adel!

With that, Lin Da's Savings Card now held a total of 1.2 million Gold.

Once every member of the Phoenix Tail Flower Team reached level 20, these Gold Coins could buy quite a few orange pieces of equipment.

Just one level short, the combat power of Lin Da and his team would rise to a new tier.

"Look, it's the Eye of True Knowledge!"

As he walked out of the guild hall, some queued adventurers recognized him.

Many pretty little fans greeted him as if they were actual fans.

Thanks to reporter Kami's coverage, any team that performed well during the Monster Tide had seen their fame increase significantly.

Out of these, four dark horses were acknowledged by Kami as having the potential to advance to the Iron Level.

They were: Ice Flower Adventure Team, Valiant Adventure Team, Phoenix Tail Flower Adventure Team, and Snow Goose Adventure Team.

The first, naturally, needs no explanation; under Lin Da's off-field direction, Ice Flower conquered the 13th floor. They just needed to pass the 14th floor to qualify for the Great Mystery Continent's 15th floor and officially become an Iron Level adventure team.

The Ice Flower, just one step away from the Iron Level, attracted much attention.

While going to collect his reward, Lin Da had a casual chat with the manager and learned that both the White Dove Adventure Group and the Specter Adventure Group had hosted banquets for Ice Flower individually.

It was unclear which side Ice Flower chose.

Lin Da guessed, based on Isa's and his united front against Hulus the day before, that Ice Flower probably chose the White Dove Adventure Group.

That was for the best, as Lin Da had no desire to become enemies with Isa.

Smiling and nodding in response to the warm greetings from those around him, Lin Da purchased a newspaper from a newsboy and, feeling somewhat tired, climbed into the carriage.

He could hear his fans outside:

"Eye of True Knowledge, I want to be your girlfriend~"

"I'm a fan of Abner, thank you for relaying the message to White Dove Adventure Group; from now on, I support both of your teams!"

"Hey, hey~ The loli's cannon, looks tasty... hehehe..."

After this battle, Phoenix Tail Flower gained a lot more fans, some even formed a Support Group on their own.

Lin Da and the others might face problems when traveling in the future. Especially the timid Monica, who even attracted the attention of a pervert who wanted to 'eat' her Earth Bombardment.

"Why don't I have as many fans as you do?" Kafni wondered as she listened to the noise outside.

Among the supporters of Phoenix Tail Flower, those yelling the name of Eye of True Knowledge were the most numerous, followed by Monica, and only occasionally were there a few who called out her title.

Moreover, her title was really lame, being called "Great Bear Thief," it sounded like a total loser.

Kafni's face turned livid with anger.

"Maybe you're just weaker," Lin Da shrugged.

In the Phoenix Tail Flower Team, Kafni was like a mascot, usually sensing the presence of Magical Creatures and stealing some not-so-valuable materials; that was about it.

The rogue profession didn't really start to show its power until level 30 and beyond.

After a whole day of fighting Magical Creatures, Lin Da sat in the rear seat of the carriage, leisurely crossing his legs.

He unfolded the newspaper to see how the Monster Tide was being reported.

He was also a bit curious about what the White Dove Morning News had to say about Phoenix Tail Flower.

The black and white newspaper unfolded, the front page was a large photo taken by a sensor ladybug: a tall man holding a longsword, turning his back on everyone, with fresh blood spilling from the torn flesh of his palms, dripping along the hilt of the sword.

The surrounding scene was in disarray, with pits everywhere smashed by the giant crab's claws. This man, leading two adventure teams, with five young girls, had defeated a level 23 Rare Orange Level Monster, the Red Armored Crab King.

The carcass of the Crab King lay like a small hill, split in two by a single sword strike.

From the high vantage point of the sensor ladybug, the man and the girls appeared tiny as ants. But with their united efforts, they took down the king of the Murderous Crabs, the Red Armored Crab King.

Beneath the image was a comment from a guest invited by the White Dove Morning News, Mayor Adel:

'Such an achievement is simply mind-boggling.

The Eye of True Knowledge with its powerful defensive power firmly blocked every attack from the Red Armored Crab King, and amidst the fierce battle, had an enlightening experience, leveling up three times and receiving the Goddess' Blessing.

The quaint coincidence, plus the exquisite cooperation of the two adventure teams, made the defeat of the Red Armored Crab King possible. I would call this a miracle!'

The journalist Kami, who wrote this report, concluded firmly: Following the Ice Flower Adventure Team, we believe that Phoenix Tail Flower and Snow Goose, these two teams, are also strong candidates for the Iron Level.

President Velen commented: The 14th floor is the threshold for adventure teams; White Dove City has had too many long-established Rock Level Teams fall at this hurdle. I sincerely hope they can break the curse of 'a decade without an Iron Level' in White Dove City and bring us some relief from this frustration.

Even Lin Da, who had a strong will, couldn't help but smile when he saw this well-founded praise for Phoenix Tail Flower.

Watching his own team rise step by step was like a father watching his son grow up; the sense of achievement was ineffable.

Even Monica, who wasn't that interested in adventuring, started smiling.

Kafni became downright smug, arrogantly declaring that from now on the adventurers would address her as 'Lady Kafni'!

"Speaking of which, it's pretty sad that White Dove City hasn't produced an Iron Level in ten years."

Lin Da sighed; he could feel the bitterness in President Velen's words.

Every time an adventure team got close to the 14th floor, it stirred President Velen's hopes. The more Iron Levels that emerged, the greater the achievements accredited to President Velen, and it was a badge of honor belonging only to the President.

But alas, in almost ten years, not a single adventure team had broken through the curse of the 14th floor.

Now, Ice Flower was on the 13th floor, Snow Goose on the 12th, both gradually approaching the curse, preparing to make a push for it.

"Ice and Fire..."

Lin Da murmured to himself, thinking of something.

Without a doubt, these two adventure teams would break the curse of White Dove City not producing an Iron Level for a decade.

Isa was solid as ever, Snow Goose was growing, with Aiko and Klrona as strong supporters helping Lia, reaching Iron Level wouldn't be difficult.

His own team had to catch up quickly too.

After conquering the fourth floor, Lin Da planned to rush all the way to the tenth floor and officially become a Rock-level Squad.

Currently, the Phoenix Tail Flower Team was: Lulu at level 27, he and Kafni, Monica, all at level 19; passing the fourth floor, they would most likely reach level 20.

In terms of the strength of the team members, they fully qualified as a Rock-level Squad.

The only thing missing was the number of floors.

"The fourth floor, Dark Night City; at zero o'clock on the first of every month, there's the highest chance to enter this Mystic Realm."

Lin Da took out a pocket watch from his Space Ring, left to him by his sister.

Finally back to where everything started.

As the pocket watch opened, the melody of the music inside rang out, a tune very familiar from home.

Inside the lid was a small photo; Lin Xi with a lively face hugging his arm, making a 'ye' victory sign with her fingers.

A very lively girl.

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After crossing over, Lin Xi went from a sickly child to healthy, and additionally, her talent for adventure was strong, her combat power not weaker than Lia's, plus she was smarter than Lia.

The sibling relationship between the two did not fade due to their crossing and the supposed loss of blood relations but rather intensified; they were not only family but also teammates who put their lives on the line together.

Lin Xi's disappearance on the fourth floor was a heavy blow to all members of Snow Goose.

Lin Da was somber for a while, and Lia became more and more a believer in personal power, seeking speed in strategy.

Perhaps it was the departure of Lin Xi, the high-output warrior, that made everyone feel the pressure.

If Lin Xi had remained with Snow Goose, the present situation would have been much different.