Shan Gui raised a hand to halt the others, his face shadowed. “I… of course I can’t compare to Master. But am I truly good for nothing?”

“Wrong. You *are* good for nothing. Temperament, wisdom, magnanimity, courage—you fall short in every single way.” I showed him no mercy, no courtesy. If sowing discord could fracture Jian Hui Tianxia? I wouldn’t hesitate. “At the very least, Jian Gu wouldn’t use such a dumb pickup line.”

I saw Shan Gui forcibly suppressing his rage. His grip on the Staff trembled. One more nudge, and he’d order his men to surround and kill me.

“If this is someone’s ‘Beauty Trap’… tell them—they almost succeeded.” Shan Gui drew a slow breath, steadying himself. He knew: acting now would mean losing face for good.

*Beauty Trap?* This guy’s got quite the imagination.

“Think what you want,” I waved dismissively. “Move aside? I’m logging off soon—don’t block my sightseeing.”

“Add me as a friend. Even if it’s the ‘Beauty Trap,’ you don’t get something for nothing. Pay the price.” He still blocked my path.

I wanted to kick him straight into the Spider Cave. Too bad—without accepting, I wouldn’t teleport in. He’d just glitch at the entrance. Useless.

Ugh. What a tedious mechanic! Queueing just to enter an instance?!

He was dead set on adding me. No backing down. Sighing, I accepted. “FYI—I’m blocking you the second this is done. Don’t even *think* about harassing me.”

*You have successfully added Shan Gui as a friend.*

“Oleander?” The moment he saw my name, Shan Gui froze as if struck by lightning. A bitter smile twisted his lips. “So… you’re Oleander?”

No clue what snapped in him. “Yep, yep! That’s me! Now move! Or I’ll beat you up!”

“So… it’s true… even *this* you had to take from me… Jian Gu…” His expression turned venomous. I tensed instantly. “Jian Gu…”

“Take your lovesick murmuring elsewhere. however tenderly you call Jian Gu’s name—you promised to step aside. Remember?” My tone sharpened.

“…Hmm.” He stepped aside from the instance path, face unreadable. “Jian Gu… you beat me to it again.”

I clicked Confirm. The screen flashed.

Hard-mode Spider Lair. Me. Alone.

Sweet~

So Jian Hui Tianxia isn’t unbreakable after all. Didn’t expect this giant to bare its wound to me so willingly.

Tear it wider?

Nah. Not sacrificing my looks today.

Alright then—Spider Lair, Hard mode. Raid begins!

Party size: one!

****************************

After leaving the Spider Cave, Shan Gui returned shortly—he’d only stepped out to buy non-tradeable supplies. Pure coincidence he ran into “Oleander.”

Thinking of Oleander, another task surfaced. Before logging off, Jian Gu had ordered him to wipe out a small guild named Gunfire Rose. For Jian Hui Tianxia? A trivial command.

“Assign any aggressive guild ranked after #30 to crush them. Afterward, grant access to Zonghui equipment exchange.” He gave the order to his assistant and dove back into the boss fight.

Within 24 hours, Jian Hui Tianxia *had* to clear the Spider Lair. Too much time wasted already. Success meant XP and loot to compensate. But if another guild snagged the perfect Hell-mode clear first? Instance closure. Wasted hours. Catastrophic early-game setback.

Every guild knew this. All racing, mobilizing top talent, scrambling for the Hard-mode strategy.

“Current intel: Boss One needs solid healing. Boss Two—the Spider Queen’s clone—requires lightning damage. Boss Three: ice. Final boss, the true Spider Queen? Only holy-attribute attacks deal real damage. Everything else gets heavily reduced… Problem is, only two holy skills exist: Divine Punishment and Holy Light Blessing. And Priests… how do they *deal* damage?”

Chanjuan, Mage of Ten Thousand Souls Hall’s Elite Squad One and dungeon analyst, was that rare blend of stunning looks and elite skill.

As a super guild rivaling Jian Hui Tianxia, Ten Thousand Souls Hall refused to lag behind. But it was only 9 a.m.—off-peak hours. Core members of both guilds strategized via chat, not combat. Still critical.

“What if… after logging on, we swap classes? Four Priests, one Warrior—test it on the Spider Queen?” suggested Nine Songs, the burly Shield Warrior who’d defended Gunfire Rose earlier.

“A flawed solution… but a solution,” Chanjuan frowned. “Since only the Spider Queen remains, and zero-progress players can join any run… we replace three squad members with Priests. Yes, those three lose hard—but we secure the first-kill reward.”

“You discuss. I’ll take a call.” Nine Songs exited the video room.

He returned minutes later. “Team, need your counsel…”

“What is it?”

“Jian Hui Tianxia attacked Gunfire Rose. All active members wiped. Trapped at the Respawn Point.”

“Gunfire Rose?” Chanjuan’s eyes narrowed, then lit up. “Ah—the small guild that dared to tug Jian Hui Tianxia’s Tiger Whiskers? Reckless. But their Guild Leader’s skilled. A few sharp players in that guild.”

“Exactly.” Nine Songs nodded. “Their Guild Leader just sent a distress signal. Help? It’s minor… but launch phase is sensitive. I need consensus—especially the Chairman’s.”

He turned toward the black-robed man at the head of the table.

Dongjun. Guild Leader of Ten Thousand Souls Hall.