The Spectacled Youth was dumbfounded.
He hadn't expected that he was a member of the First Clear team, and when he looked at the post he had just made, his face turned green.
He quickly wanted to delete the post, but found that its popularity was rapidly rising, with a large number of people replying, clearly many sharing the same thought.
Deleting the post now would be an admission of guilt.
The Spectacled Youth decisively chose to play dead; after all, the forum wasn't real-name...
"I wonder which big shot managed to last until now, six hours," the Spectacled Youth exclaimed in his heart.
Others didn't know, thinking the First Clear team had referenced some information shared by the Fenglei Team to clear the instance.
Only the few of them knew that they had entered the instance much earlier than the Fenglei Team.
Recalling his four teammates, the Spectacled Youth quickly ruled out the yellow-haired youth and the male and female college students, focusing on Zhou Li.
In the instance, Zhou Li had been very low-key, but at least he was more reliable than the other three.
Since the instance was cleared, it was highly likely due to his efforts.
...
【Congratulations on clearing the Trial Instance: Blood Battle Lin Family Fortress, evaluation is A, you receive the following rewards: Growth Value 50, strength crystal * 5, agility crystal * 5, constitution crystal * 5, spirit crystal * 5】
【Due to this being the First Clear, your contribution far exceeded others, you receive additional rewards: strength crystal * 10, agility crystal * 10, constitution crystal * 10, spirit crystal * 10, Skill - Swordplay Proficiency, Material - Frigid Marrow Crystal】
The rewards automatically went into the backpack and could be used at any time.
After hearing the system notification, Zhou Li was a bit surprised.
Clearing the instance just once gave him 50 Growth Value.
Wouldn't another run allow him to enter the Advancement Instance and Ascend to First Order?
He could understand the A evaluation; after all, he had spent too long in the instance.
It was almost dawn.
If he hadn't killed the boss and merely survived until dawn, barely completing the main quest, the evaluation would probably have been E or F.
There were two ways to clear the Blood Battle Lin Family Fortress instance: one was to survive until dawn, and the other was to eliminate the boss in advance.
The former resulted in a low evaluation and few rewards, while the latter resulted in a high evaluation and many rewards.
Zhou Li's A evaluation was barely satisfactory.
Zhou Li checked his gains, starting with the four types of crystals.
Using a strength crystal increased Strength by one point, and other crystals worked similarly.
This was the standard way for Awakeners to acquire attributes, and Zhou Li didn't hesitate, immediately choosing to use them.
Four streams of light surged into his body.
His four main attributes changed.
Strength 108, Agility 107, Constitution 108, Spirit 107.
A Zero Order Awakener's single attribute was between 0 and 100.
Zhou Li's current four main attributes clearly exceeded the Zero Order range, reaching First Order strength.
Continuing to look, the First Clear also gave two other items.
【Frigid Marrow Crystal】
【Quality: Ordinary】
【Type: Material】
【Produced from beneath the Arctic glaciers, extremely sturdy, can be used for forging weapons.】
Zhou Li found the Frigid Marrow Crystal somewhat familiar.
The boss's sword seemed to be forged from it.
Unfortunately, it was temporarily useless.
The other skill book was different.
【Swordplay Proficiency】
【Quality: Excellent】
【Type: Passive Skill】
【You can skillfully use various sword-type weapons, increasing sword technique power by 10%】
"This is dropping the boss's skill."
Zhou Li was a bit surprised.
The villain's Great Accomplishment Demonic Art and exquisite swordplay had left a deep impression on him.
Otherwise, relying solely on his four main attributes, he would have cleared the instance long ago.
Such an ability that could enhance combat power was naturally not to be missed.
What surprised Zhou Li even more was its Excellent quality.
As his gaze fell on the quality line, relevant information was understood by Zhou Li.
Whether it was skills, materials, equipment, or other items, they all had quality grades, from low to high: Ordinary, Excellent, Rare, Perfect, epic, Legend, Mythical.
Don't underestimate the Excellent grade.
Even a First Order instance could only produce a maximum quality of Excellent.
"What a huge surprise."
Zhou Li was beaming with joy.
A Zero Order could learn three skills, and each Ascension added three more.
Zhou Li's skill slots were currently empty, so he immediately chose to learn it.
Thus, his attribute panel became 【Skills: Swordplay Proficiency Lv0】.
The next moment, countless experiences of practicing swordplay flooded his mind.
He seemed to become a sword fanatic focused solely on the sword, constantly swinging the long sword in his hand, for a day, a month, a year...
Accumulating over time, his swordplay went from clumsy to proficient.
Various sword moves were executed effortlessly.
Regardless of the type of sword, it held immense power in his hands.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
At this moment, Zhou Li believed that as long as he had a long sword in hand, even the villain at his peak would be beheaded with a few strikes in front of him.
"Just need a sword."
Swordplay Proficiency was just proficiency, far from reaching the level where everything could be a sword.
To fully utilize this passive skill and enhance combat power, he still needed a sword.
Zhou Li glanced regretfully at the villain's sword, which he had broken with a punch.
That sword clearly wasn't an Ordinary item.
Of course, regret was useless; items from the instance couldn't be taken out.
"If I run the instance again, I wonder if even the villain's underwear will drop."
"So generous, how can I possibly accept this."
He shook his head.
"Exit instance."
Back in his own home, Zhou Li immediately clicked on the Blood Battle Lin Family Fortress instance, ready to strike while the iron was hot and Ascend to First Order before stopping.
Continue matching.
However, unexpectedly, this time Zhou Li waited a long time without successfully matching, a stark contrast to the previous matches that took less than a minute.
"What's going on?"
Canceling the match, Zhou Li chose another instance, but also couldn't find anyone to match with.
He switched to another one, and it was the same.
He didn't continue matching.
Zhou Li went online to search for information.
At this point, he also saw the text message he had received on his phone and suddenly understood.
No wonder he couldn't form a team now.
Those entering instances now were basically five-person teams, full.
There were solo players, but very few.
Zhou Li was a bit numb.
If he continued matching, he should still be able to find people, but it would take a long time.
The most troublesome part was the subsequent Advancement Instance, which would likely also require a five-person team.
Even if he accumulated enough Growth Value, he would have to wait for others.
Not to mention, those people would likely have their own teams and wouldn't team up with solo players for the Advancement Instance.
"If I can't Ascend, didn't I run this instance for nothing?"
Zhou Li was speechless.
It seemed he still had to form his own team.
Logging into the Awakener forum, Zhou Li browsed some posts to understand the situation.
The First Clear of the instance had shaken the forum.
The Spectacled Youth's post initially did create quite a stir, but before Zhou Li could come forward, it was clarified.
The reason was simple: the instance clear record was there for anyone to check.
The clear time of over six hours clearly proved that Zhou Li and his team clearing it had nothing to do with the Fenglei Team.
Many people analyzed that Zhou Li and his team were able to clear it not because their raw strength was particularly high, but because their stealth abilities were strong enough.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken so long.
The boss wasn't omnipotent.
Some stealth Talents could hide all traces of oneself, rendering even a strong boss helpless.
They even suspected that similar situations were not uncommon.
There were definitely some 'old sixes' still hiding in the instance, waiting for dawn to arrive.
It was just that Zhou Li and his team entered the instance early, so they luckily got the First Clear.
Such a First Clear undoubtedly had very low value, far inferior to the Fenglei Team's.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes."
Zhou Li had no interest in arguing with people.
Instead, he registered an account, using his real name, and then created a post.
"First Clear team captain is taking people through the instance! Waiting for four, guaranteed clear, first come, first served, won't wait after the time limit."
It must be said, the words 'First Clear' were quite eye-catching.
"Bump."
"Spectating, Liu Ming."
"Selling ad space in the front row."
The post was very popular with many bumps, but not a single person wanted to join the team.
Zhou Li was surprised and flipped through the posts to understand what was going on.
He didn't know if it was the yellow-haired youth or the male and female college students who revealed their experiences.
They just lay low after entering and contributed nothing to the clear.
Their final gains were also minimal.
Clearing the instance once only gave 10 Growth Value.
To accumulate a hundred, they would need to enter at least nine more times.
The four main attributes given, excluding the First Clear reward, were a pitiful amount, like a drop in the bucket.
Zhou Li's team was also jokingly referred to as the Death Squad.
Everyone wanted to clear the instance, but not many were willing to do it in this manner.
